Commanders' Dan Snyder 'Survives If’: Inside the Leaked Gruden Goof

Dan Snyder leaked Jon Gruden's emails in 2021, which led to his firing from the Las Vegas Raiders. That started a domino effect that ended his tenure as Washington Commanders owner.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 12, 2023

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Washington Commanders

The official end of the Dan Snyder era is coming in just a few days' time, but one final straw could have prevented this from happening.

The sale of the Washington Commanders from Snyder to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion is set to finally become official after months and years of controversies. However, if it hadn't been for one in particular, the sale may not have happened and Snyder could still be the owner of the Commanders.

Just over a year ago, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned from his position after emails of homophobic slurs he used were leaked to the media.

Snyder was the source.

ESPN is reporting that had it not been for Snyder leaking Gruden's emails, he may not have been so pressured to sell the franchise.

"He was free and clear that October -- he just had to wait out his suspension and let everything blow over," a source close to Snyder told ESPN. "A major miscalculation. Without the leaks, he might just have survived."

The emails were leaked in October 2021, just around the start of the investigation where former team president Bruce Allen was about to testify. A day before Allen's testimony, the emails leaked.

Gruden, the brother of former Washington head coach Jay Gruden, has filed a lawsuit against the NFL for leaking the emails to the Wall Street Journal and defaming his character. But now, Gruden will almost certainly add Snyder to the list of people he has a grievance with.

The motivation behind Snyder leaking the emails at the time he did it is unclear, but if he hadn't, he may still have been the owner of the Commanders.

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Published Jul 12, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.