Robert Rothman, former minority owner of Commanders, sues Bank of America
On Wednesday, Robert Rothman, a former minority owner of the Washington Commanders, filed a 45-page lawsuit in Tampa Bay federal court against Bank of America.
In the suit, the chairman and CEO of Black Diamond Capital alleged that Bank of America, former majority owner Dan Snyder and members of the NFL "conspired" to force him and Washington's two other minority partners to sell their stakes at a price well below the team's value.
Rothman, FedEx chairman Frederick W. Smith and NVR Inc. chairman Dwight Schar sold their 40% minority stakes in the team for $875 million in April 2021. The lawsuit states that they did so at that price after receiving a valuation for the team for less than $3 billion.
"[Bank of America executives] knew or reasonably anticipated that Snyder would have to sell the Franchise as a result of Snyder's indebtedness," Brian Kopp, Rothman's lawyer, wrote in the complaint.
In July 2023, Snyder sold the team to billionaire Josh Harris' group for a record $6.05 billion, well below the valuation the minority owners were told the team was worth. As such, Rothman is seeking compensatory damages of at least $75 million.
"We will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations," Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin told ESPN. Snyder's attorney, John Brownlee, didn't respond to the media outlet for comment, and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined comment.
Other parts of contention in the lawsuit include the claim that Bank of America repeatedly turned "a blind eye" to red flags in Snyder's dealings with the minority owners. He negotiated a $55 million credit line without the approval of the team's board, which was in the franchise's bylaws for such an action.
"Without verifying Snyder had obtained board approval," the lawsuit states, Snyder was allowed to withdraw $38 million in March 2019. In addition to that, Snyder reportedly failed to pay his minority owners their quarterly share of profits.
In short, Rothman alleges in his lawsuit that Bank of America consistently put its financial interests ahead of the minority owners and "allowed the bad actors to disguise improper financial dealings, cash flow problems and internal Franchise self-dealing to the financial detriment of Rothman."
