Snyder to become lone owner of Washington team
Dan Snyder will soon be the sole owner of the Washington Football Team.
Snyder is buying out the team’s minority owners in a move that gives him total control and should end a lengthy, bitter court dispute along with any speculation that he’d be pushed to sell his boyhood team he bought in 1999.
An NFL spokesman on Wednesday confirmed that Snyder’s application for a debt waiver of $450 million was approved by the league’s finance committee and that the deal is pending approval from team owners. Three-quarters, or 24 of 32 teams, need to sign off during a vote at the annual league meeting next week to make it official.
Multiple messages seeking comment that were left for the team, a public relations firm representing Snyder and lawyers representing the minority owners were not immediately returned.
Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Bob Rothman currently own 40.5% of Washington Football Inc. They sued Snyder in federal court in Maryland in November, seeking an injunction to allow them to sell their shares of the team.
This effectively settles that matter and puts Snyder completely in charge of the team, which Forbes most recently valued at $3.5 billion. Washington is in the midst of an organizational upheaval after dropping its name last year and launching an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace by several former employees.
Hilton sticks with Colts: Longtime Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton will re-sign with the Indianapolis Colts after agreeing to a one-year contract Wednesday.
Hilton, 31, and team owner Jim Irsay both confirmed the deal on Twitter posts. The deal is for $10 million with $8 million in guaranteed money.
Hilton was Indy’s third-round draft pick in 2012 and has spent his entire career with the Colts.
Suh back with Bucs: Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has agreed to a one-year contract worth $9 million to remain with the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
It’s the third straight winter Suh, 34, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Bucs, who’ve led the NFL in run defense each of the past two seasons.