Colts Owner Jim Irsay: There Is Merit To Removing Commanders Owner Dan Snyder

At the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday, Colts owner Jim Irsay was asked about controversial Commanders owner Dan Snyder and did not hold back. 

“I believe there is merit to removing him as owner of the (Commanders),” he said via Albert Breer.

This is notable as Irsay is the first owner to come out publicly against Snyder, confirming what’s been reported in recent months — that sentiment against Snyder behind the scenes is beginning to shift. 

The owners can vote Snyder out with 24 votes from the other 31 teams, and Irsay told reporters “I think potentially there will be” enough votes. 

“I believe in the workplace today and the standard the shield has, you have to stand for that and protect it,” he said via Tom Rock. “…I believe it’s important the NFL look it squarely in the eye and deal with it.”

“The founders of this league taught me you have to protect the game. This isn’t what we’re about.”

No vote for Snyder’s removal is scheduled for today or this week and Irsay added, “I don’t know how long that will take,” via Lindsay Jones. He said the league needs to wait for all of the investigations into Snyder to conclude. 

There are almost too many issues with Snyder’s tenure to name, but what has pushed the other owners to the brink of removing him have been multiple workplace toxicity and sexual harassment scandals, some implicating Snyder, that are being investigated by the NFL and Congress.

Perhaps more importantly to the other owners, Snyder’s failure to secure funding for a new stadium and other business woes have sapped any goodwill he might have had. One veteran owner told ESPN this week: “His gate is the lowest in the league, his revenues are significantly low and trending lower. He is costing his fellow owners significant money.”

The report also said Snyder was gathering dirt on other owners to try and leverage against them. Irsay said he didn’t care about that. 

“He can investigate me till the cows come home, it’s not going to back me off,” he said via Jones.

We’ll have more on the Commanders and Snyder as the news is available.