Commanders agree to $1.3 million settlement following Virginia season ticket deposit investigation

The Washington Commanders reached a $1.3 million settlement with season ticket holders after allegations arose against the organization that it failed to return ticket deposits and other fees.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the settlement Tuesday with the team, which has already returned more than $600,000 in deposits to about 475 season ticket holders. Washington agreed to pay an additional $700,000 in fines and costs as part of the two-year investigation.

The failure to repay deposits occurred when Dan Snyder owned the franchise before Josh Harris and his partners purchased the team for $6.05 billion in July 2023. The first allegations about the team’s approach to repaying season ticket holders’ deposits came amid a congressional investigation into questionable business and labor practices during Snyder’s ownership.

“Our investigation found that Commanders’ previous owner improperly withheld security deposits for years after they should have been refunded to consumers,” Miyares said in a statement. “I thank the team’s current owner for their cooperation in this investigation and for their efforts to remedy the consumer harm we identified.”

According to a person briefed on the situation, Snyder is responsible for all fines.

The Commanders had previously settled similar allegations with the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

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Commanders settle lawsuit over ticket holders’ deposit

A spokesperson for the team said in a statement: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which resolves the issues that arose under the previous ownership.”

According to a statement from Miyares’ office, beginning in 1997, the team “entered into long-term contracts with season ticket holders” that required the payment of refundable deposits in certain cases. The team “improperly retained significant amounts of deposits and often imposed additional conditions on customers who requested a refund.” Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke.

Washington sent about 650 form letters to former season ticket holders with unrefunded deposits on file, stating that it would “transfer unclaimed funds to state offices of unclaimed property,” according to the statement from Miyare’s office. “Despite this commitment, the team has not transferred a single unclaimed deposit to any state office of unclaimed property, including the Virginia Department of Revenue, through at least 2023.”

(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)