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.
