Congress: Commanders may have broken financial laws

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday saying the Washington Commanders engaged in potentially unlawful financial conduct, and the NFL plans to look into the most serious allegations.

The committee found evidence of deceptive business practice over the span of more than a decade, including withholding ticket revenue from visiting teams and refundable deposits from fans.

In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, the committee outlined through the testimony of former employees and access to emails and documents a pattern of financial impropriety by owner Dan Snyder and team executives. At one point in 2016, the committee said the team retained up to $5 million from 2,000 season-ticket holders while also concealing sharable revenue from the league.

An NFL spokesman said the league has engaged former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White “to review the most serious matters raised by the committee.” She chaired the SEC from 2013-17.

One former employee testified before Congress saying the team had two separate financial books: one with underreported ticket revenue that went to the NFL and the full, complete picture. According to testimony, Snyder was aware of the numbers shared with the league while also being privy to the actual data.

The business practice was known as “juice” inside Washington’s front office.

Ticket revenue is shared among all 32 NFL teams, with 40% of it deposited in a visiting team fund. Such money is among the pillars of the league’s revenue-sharing commitment.