The Washington Commanders reached a settlement with the D.C. attorney general’s office and agreed to pay $650,000 related to the team’s failure to return refundable security deposits to season ticket holders.
The office announced Monday that the Commanders will return $200,000 to impacted residents and will pay a $450,000 fine to the District. The settlement was related to one of two consumer protection lawsuits filed last year by outgoing D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine. The other suit — related to the Commanders’ workplace misconduct — is still ongoing.
“Rather than being transparent and upfront in their ticket sale practices, the Commanders unlawfully took advantage of their fan base, holding on to security deposits instead of returning them,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement. “Under this settlement agreement, our office will maintain strict oversight over the Commanders to ensure all necessary steps are taken to reimburse fans for the refunds they are entitled to.
“Our office takes seriously the obligation to enforce DC consumer protection laws by holding accountable anyone that tries to exploit District consumers.”
The D.C. attorney general’s office began investigating the Commanders’ ticketing practices last year when a congressional panel informed it of testimony from a former Washington employee who told members of Congress that the team had committed financial improprieties.
The D.C. office was one of several authoritative bodies to open a probe related to the investigation. In November, the Commanders reached a settlement with the Maryland attorney general’s office in which they agreed to refund deposits and pay a $250,000 penalty. That agreement came days after that Racine filed his second civil suit against the franchise.
As part of Monday’s settlement with the District, the Commanders must attempt to notify impacted season ticket holders, prominently disclose the refund process on the team’s website and provide the attorney general’s office with regular progress reports in returning the money to fans. The attorney general’s office said the team held more than $200,000 in unreturned deposits as of March 2022.
The Commanders, who did not respond to a request for comment, have 30 days to pay the $425,000 penalty.
The team denied “all of the District’s allegations and claims, including that it has violated any consumer protection laws” as part of the agreement, according to the settlement document.
The settlement agreement also comes as Commanders owner Dan Snyder continues to explore a sale of the franchise. Snyder and the team have faced multiple investigations over the last few years, several of which have concluded.
The NFL still has an open investigation into Snyder and the Commanders that is being conducted by former Securities and Exchange chair Mary Jo White. The embattled billionaire is also being investigated by the U.S. attorney general office in the Eastern District of Virginia and Virginia’s attorney general’s office.
