2023 NFL Off-Season thread

[LL!]

Love love love those Seahawks kits. They should have them as regular alts. 

[LL!]

Meanwhile, Colts are really leaning into... college aesthetics?

 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

I can only imagine what Irsay was on when he signed off on those.

[LL!]

You'd think at least a blue helmet?

[Lineker]

3 hours ago, LL! said:

Love love love those Seahawks kits. They should have them as regular alts. 

I think they are? These replace the wolf grey uniforms. Could be wrong on that though. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah the Seahawks throwbacks look like they're planned to stick around as the permanent alts. Likewise the creamsicles. And I assume same can be said for the Eagles kelly green when those get launched.

[The Buscher]

On one hand, fuck Dan Snyder.

On the other hand, I’m sad to see a division rival gain (possibly) competent ownership.

[Lineker]

7 minutes ago, I Think You Should Busch said:

On one hand, fuck Dan Snyder.

On the other hand, I’m sad to see a division rival gain (possibly) competent ownership.

 

Quote

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Washington Commanders no longer belong to Dan Snyder.

NFL owners voted during a special session Thursday to unanimously approve the team's sale from the Snyder family to a group led by Josh Harris.

"Today, my partners and I were entrusted by the NFL with the stewardship of a great franchise," Harris said Thursday in a statement. "As a lifelong Washington football fan who grew up here, I know that the Commanders are more than just a sports team. This is an institution, passed down from generation to generation.

"From day one, it is our top priority to deliver you a championship caliber team, and we will strive everyday to ensure that we are a franchise you can be proud of."

The Harris group is paying $6.05 billion, a record sum for a North American sports franchise. Snyder had owned the majority of the Commanders since 1999, and his family became the sole owners after he bought out his limited partners two years ago.

"Congratulations to Josh Harris and his impressive group of partners," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Josh will be a great addition to the NFL. He has a remarkable record in business, sports, and in his communities. The diverse group that Josh has put together is outstanding for its business acumen and strong Washington ties and we welcome them to the NFL as well.

"... I know he has a commitment to winning on the field, but also to running an organization that everyone will be proud of -- and to making positive contributions in the community."

Harris and Snyder entered into an exclusive agreement May 12, but the NFL's finance committee, according to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, wanted Harris to adjust his offer to get in compliance with NFL guidelines. Harris could not carry more than $1.1 billion in debt, and the committee wanted him to have more equity in the purchase. The primary owner must put up 30% of the sum.

Getting the bid in compliance, among other issues, had caused the vote to be delayed.

The finance committee met with Harris for the first time June 7 in New York. After sounding a note of caution during the owners meetings in May, Irsay was more optimistic following this meeting that a deal would be approved soon.

"From day one, it is our top priority to deliver you a championship caliber team, and we will strive everyday to ensure that we are a franchise you can be proud of," Harris said in his statement. "To Commanders fans everywhere, our promise is this: We will do the work, create the culture and make the investment needed to deliver for this team and for Washington."

Harris' group includes NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and billionaire Mitchell Rales, who, like Harris, is from Maryland. There are 20 limited partners in the Harris group, under the NFL limit of 25. Each partner had to be vetted for financial and security reasons.

"This is truly the biggest achievement in my business career and a historic moment for the entire Black community," Johnson posted to Twitter on Thursday. "Talk about God's perfect timing. This was the right organization for me to be a part of given it's global appeal, history of winning, and the diverse fanbase and DMV community. ... I am honored and ecstatic to be a co-owner of the Commanders franchise!"

Harris -- along with David Blitzer as part of the Harris-Blitzer Sports Entertainment group -- also owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils. Harris also is a general partner of Crystal Palace F.C. in the English Premier League and a minority shareholder in Joe Gibbs Racing.

Harris co-founded Apollo Management, an asset management firm, in 1990. He has a net worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes.

Taking over distressed assets launched Harris' wealth. And that's what he will be doing in Washington.

Snyder had been the subject of multiple investigations over the past three years, leading to speculation about his future as an owner and causing numerous fans to lessen their attachment to the franchise. But on Oct. 18, after Irsay had told reporters there was "merit" to removing Snyder as owner, Snyder released a statement along with his wife, Tanya, that said they would not sell the team.

However, on Nov. 2, the Snyders released a statement saying in essence that they would consider selling the franchise. It was unclear at the time if they meant some or all of the team, but it soon became clear it would be a full sale, based on conversations with people close to the situation. In December, Snyder cleared out his office at the practice facility.

The NFL on Thursday also fined Snyder $60 million after attorney Mary Jo White released her findings following a lengthy investigation into the now-former owner. That investigation began after a House Oversight Committee review into workplace misconduct as well as a referral to the Federal Trade Commission for alleged financial improprieties by Snyder.

Snyder purchased the team in 1999 for $800 million. From 1971 to 1992, the organization appeared in five Super Bowls and won three -- with all those titles occurring in a 10-year period that ended in 1991 under former coach Joe Gibbs.

Under Snyder, Washington had a 164-220-2 record, for a .427 winning percentage; only five teams compiled a worse winning percentage in that span. Since 1999, Washington won the NFC East four times but fared poorly in the playoffs, going 2-6. The organization's eight playoff games were fewer than all but three teams in the past 24 years.

The Commanders last won a playoff game in 2005.

It was just as bad off the field, with a number of controversies over the years slowly eroding what once had been among the strongest fan bases in the NFL.

In 2019, Washington ranked 30th in percentage of seats sold and 20th in average attendance per game. Last season, the Commanders ranked last in both. The last time Washington finished higher than 20th in percentage of seats sold was 2007 (second), although with a seating capacity that once topped 90,000, it ranked among the top five in attendance from 2006 to 2014.

In July 2020, the Washington Post first reported several instances of sexual harassment by former employees. The Post and other outlets also detailed a workplace culture that had deteriorated under Snyder. The NFL investigated these claims and fined the team $10 million in July 2021 for what attorney Beth Wilkinson termed a toxic workplace culture.

A month later, the Post reported more allegations, including that a lewd video had been made at Snyder's request from outtakes of a cheerleader photo shoot. Snyder denied the allegation.

The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the team's workplace in October 2021. That led to separate investigations by the attorneys general in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia into alleged financial improprieties. The U.S. attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia also launched an investigation into the same issues.

Snyder's legacy also includes changing the name of the franchise, retiring its original one in July 2020 and temporarily going by the Washington Football Team before settling on Commanders in February 2022. Snyder had hoped to build a new stadium in the Washington, D.C., area, but numerous politicians and team officials said no one wanted to make a deal with him.

 

Quote

Former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder sexually harassed a team employee and oversaw team executives who deliberately withheld millions of dollars in revenue from other clubs, and he has agreed to pay a $60 million fine, the league announced Thursday.

The NFL released a 23-page report detailing the findings of an independent investigation into Snyder's conduct just minutes after its owners unanimously approved the sale of the Commanders to Josh Harris.

The investigation was led by former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White and conducted by her law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton. The league had pledged to make the findings of the probe public.

Investigators concluded that Washington withheld $11 million in revenue that should have been shared with other teams, an amount the report suggests might have been far greater. White's firm was unable to reach a conclusion about tens of millions of additional dollars that might have been withheld in part because Snyder and the team did not cooperate fully with the investigation, according to the report.

The report concluded that Snyder sexually harassed former team employee Tiffani Johnston, allegations that Johnston first made last year in front of a House committee. Snyder placed his hand on Johnston's thigh at a team dinner and pushed her toward his car as they were leaving the restaurant, the report said.

"The conduct substantiated in Ms. White's findings has no place in the NFL," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "We strive for workplaces that are safe, respectful and professional. What Ms. Johnston experienced is inappropriate and contrary to the NFL's values."

Snyder has denied Johnston's allegations and repeated that denial in an interview with White's investigators. He only agreed to speak with investigators for one hour, the report said.

Investigators spoke with Johnston several times and "found her to be highly credible," the report said, and her account was corroborated by witnesses and other evidence.

The firm did not conclude whether Snyder was personally aware of the financial improprieties, but witnesses told investigators that Snyder repeatedly pressured team employees to improve its financial performance, telling them, "every dollar matters." Documents detailing how the team moved revenue into accounts that shielded the money from other teams were shared with Snyder on at least one occasion, the report said.

 

[The Buscher]

[Lineker]

Just now, I Think You Should Busch said:

 

[Slogger]

 

Second chance to this right Washington...

[gunnar hendershow]

They should be required to change their name to the Virginia Defense Contractors if they move across the Potomac.

[LL!]

The Virginia Slims is right there. 

[Meacon Keaton]

9 hours ago, LL! said:

The Virginia Slims is right there. 

And their cheerleaders should all be grandmothers playing Bingo.

[Lineker]

 

[gunnar hendershow]

1 hour ago, Meacon Keaton said:

And their cheerleaders should all be grandmothers playing Bingo.

Just enlist the Hogettes.

[GhostMachine]

On 20/07/2023 at 23:16, Lineker said:

 

They should do what I suggested before they took on the (shitty) Commanders name (with an even shittier logo): Go back to the Indian head logo or arrowhead helmets, and call themselves the Washington Warriors. 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

That's still considered racist. The goal is to eliminate all indigenous/ethnic imagery from sports mascots

[LL!]

Let's be clear. That being a prime example is further proof that no one should do what you suggest. 

[Your Mom]

I still say "Washington Football Team" was perfect. They are technically a Football Team but there is nothing about them special enough to give them a mascot or a cool name. They are literally just a Football Team. Maybe they can earn a cool name later on?