How a disputed $55M loan now plays into federal probe of Commanders

DANIEL SNYDER'S FINAL breakup from his longtime minority partners in Washington's NFL franchise began with a footnote in an April 2020 financial report.

The note revealed a $55 million credit line the team had taken out 16 months earlier without the knowledge and required approval of Snyder's minority partners — the three billionaires who owned 40% of the franchise, according to documents obtained by ESPN.

The secret $55 million loan has become a primary focus of federal prosecutors in Virginia who are investigating allegations of financial misconduct by Snyder and the Washington Commanders, multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of the inquiry told ESPN.

A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas for a cache of documents related to the team's finances, including the loan. Prosecutors acquired the partners' NFL arbitration petition and other supporting materials, including emails and letters between team executives and bank lawyers, documents show. The criminal inquiry is being led by a team of FBI and IRS agents, sources said.

During a confidential arbitration, the former partners demanded that the NFL investigate the origin of Snyder's loan. But neither NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whose signature granted league approval for the team to take on the new debt, nor the NFL arbitrator investigated the partners' allegation of financial wrongdoing, according to hundreds of pages of confidential NFL arbitration documents obtained by ESPN and more than a dozen interviews.

Loans and lines of credit obtained without the approval of Washington's board of directors violate the team's shareholder agreement, according to the documents. The documents also show Bank of America officials asked team executives repeatedly for proof