Former Commanders Owner Dan Snyder 'Hates' Washington's Success Without Him

Before the Washington Commanders reached the NFC championship game, before the start of the 2024 NFL season, and even before the team drafted rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who just might be the savior the franchise had been trying to find for decades, Commanders fans were already celebrating.

The joy stemmed from the team’s sale by former owner Dan Snyder, who in the summer of 2023, ended the most disastrous stretch of ownership the NFL has ever seen, selling the team to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris for $6.05 billion.

With Snyder out of the picture, Washington fans felt a fresh start really was possible, and while the team struggled to a 4–13 campaign in the first year under the new regime, hopes were higher than they had been in years.

Then, the 2024 season began. Daniels put up what is arguably already the greatest rookie season by a quarterback in the history of the league, and Washington ran all the way to the NFC championship, and on Sunday, could reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1991.

As Commanders fans rejoice in the newfound glory of their team, Snyder is reportedly not taking the team’s turn of success very well.

"He f---ing hates it," one of Snyder’s associates told a colleague of Snyder’s feelings on Washington’s recent run, per a report from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr.

Throughout the report, Wickersham and Van Natta Jr. detail Snyder’s post-Commanders life in London, where he remains toying with the idea of buying into a Premier League team. They also recap how Snyder attempted to back out of the Washington sale at the 11th hour before finally relenting. But the moments that will likely resonate most with readers, especially Washington fans, are the details of Snyder’s fury as he watches the team succeed without him.

"Sadness—for himself," one source told ESPN. "It's killing him. ... It's devastating for him."

While Snyder looks back in anger, the Commanders team and its fanbase continues to look forward. After all, they have a game to play on Sunday.