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NFL Lifetime Tenure? Why Snyder and Ross Probably Won’t Lose Teams

michael mccann
·6 min read

There are increasing rumblings that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross might lose their respective teams in the wake of serious misconduct allegations.

Don’t be so sure.

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In the league’s 102-year history, during which various persons of questionable ethics have owned teams, no majority owner has ever been voted out. Forced termination on account of misconduct would be unprecedented.

Like other major pro leagues, the NFL is designed to protect, not endanger, ownership investments. Removal would require, among other conditions, a vote to remove by at least three-fourths of the 31 other ownership groups. If it were easy to expel owners, and publicly shame them in the process, prospective buyers might be less willing to invest billions of dollars. Owners have a kind of security on par with university tenure, except it’s worth much more money than being a professor.

Snyder is under league investigation for various workplace allegations, including one by Tiffani Mattingly Johnston, a former Washington marketing manager and cheerleader. She recently told members of Congress that Snyder had placed his hand on her thigh during a dinner years ago and, after the dinner ended, pushed her towards his limo. Snyder dismisses the accusations as “outright lies.” Ross is under league investigation for claims by former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. In his civil rights lawsuit, Flores alleges that Ross offered to bribe him $100,000 per loss in 2019 as part of a tanking scheme. Ross firmly denies the allegation, describing it as defamatory.

Some have analogized the Ross and Snyder situations to that of Jerry Richardson in December 2017. Richardson owned the Carolina Panthers and was 81 years old. At least four women who worked for the team accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate physical contact. Richardson was also accused of directing a racial slur at a Black scout. The allegations were contained in a Sports Illustrated investigative report.

Within a couple of days of the report’s publication, Richardson announced he would sell the Panthers. Five months later, David Tepper agreed to buy the team for $2.28 billion. Meanwhile, the NFL hired Mary Jo White, a former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to investigate. By June 2018, White had confirmed the allegations. The NFL fined Richardson $2.75 million.

While the Richardson analogy “works” to the extent it involves an NFL owner accused of serious misconduct—and arguably works better for Snyder since, like Richardson, Snyder has been accused of sexual misconduct—the analogy fails in other ways.

First, the NFL caught a break when Richardson voluntarily—and quickly—agreed to sell. It’s been speculated that Richardson was nudged out by Goodell and fellow owners, but a nudge that doesn’t induce a person to move is inconsequential. Neither Snyder nor Ross has given any indication they plan to sell. Indeed, they seem ready to fight.

Second, age might have played a role with the octogenarian Richardson perhaps eyeing retirement. Ross is the same age, but Snyder is only 57.

Finally, the NFL’s actual punishment wasn’t expulsion but a $2.75 million fine. That would be an enormous penalty for almost everyone to pay, but “almost” is a crucial word: Richardson, Snyder and Ross are all billionaires.

The removal of Donald Sterling from the NBA has also been discussed as precedent, but details matter. Sterling was caught on tape saying racist remarks. Thus far, claims against Snyder and Ross appear to be based on witness recollections rather than physical evidence. Like the NFL, the NBA requires at least three quarters of majority owners to vote out an owner, but it’s unclear whether there were enough votes to remove Sterling, and the NBA never held a vote. Instead, a judge deemed Sterling mentally incapacitated and transferred control of the family trust to his wife, Shelly Sterling, who promptly sold the team to Steve Ballmer.

The procedure to remove an NFL owner might also risk the “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” effect.

Goodell or any member of the league’s executive committee can bring charges against an owner for engaging in “conduct detrimental,” a sufficiently ambiguous phrase that could encompass sexual misconduct and bribes to lose games. In response, the commissioner would launch an investigation and submit a copy of charges. The accused owner would have 15 days to answer.

Goodell would then schedule a hearing and preside over it—essentially functioning as a quasi-judge—unless he’s also the complainant (in which case a majority of owners would elect a presiding officer). The accused owner would be represented by attorneys. Evidence and testimony would be presented by both sides.

One plausible form of defense would be lack of notice. The accused owner might insist that fellow owners engaged in similar misconduct and weren’t expelled, and thus the accused wasn’t on notice that this type of misconduct would trigger expulsion. Other owners may have sexually harassed, or made unwanted contact with, women or engaged in tanking efforts. This would all come out in the hearing, and likely in the media, damaging other owners’ reputations.

After the hearing, the owners, functioning as jurors, would vote. An ousted owner would have 120 days to sell the team. If the owner fails to do so, the owner and Goodell would then negotiate the appropriate price. If those talks break down, two arbitrators—one picked by the owner, the other by Goodell—would determine the price. If those talks also fail then a third arbitrator, picked by the first two arbitrators, would intervene.

Rather than going through the procedure to oust Snyder and Ross, Goodell could impose lengthy suspensions, even lifetime bans. NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life, thereby preventing him from attending games played by the franchise he owned. The NFL constitution explicitly contemplates a lifetime ban for owners who attempt to “control, fix or bet money” on the “outcome or score” of a game. While that language is clearly intended to address betting, bribes to lose games could fall within its parameters. Goodell has used his authority to suspend owners, sidelining Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay for six games after Irsay pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for operating a vehicle while under the influence.

No matter the outcome, it would be “final, conclusive and unappealable” per the constitution. Owners also contractually agree to waive potential legal claims they might have against the league, Goodell and fellow owners. It would thus be difficult for an ousted or banned owner to sue.

But “difficult” isn’t synonymous with “impossible.” An owner might argue in court that the league failed to follow its own procedures—perhaps because other owners didn’t suffer the same fate for similar misdeeds—and thus contractual waivers are nullified. An owner might also contend the league, Goodell and other owners partook in an illegal antitrust conspiracy to oust the owner.

One thing is for sure: Don’t expect Snyder or Ross to go quietly.

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