2 recent moves that prove pressure is mounting on Commanders’ Dan Snyder

2. What Happened to the Radio?

If you thought Washington’s premier beer sponsor severing ties with the franchise was a big deal, what if we told you the team’s flagship radio station, 980AM, announced the end of its long-standing partnership?

The station was formerly owned by Snyder and has since been bought by the media company Audacy, which released the following statement.

"“The organization and the company disagreed on the value of the broadcasts and the station believed it was also important to continue to be able to provide honest, objective information, analysis, and commentary about the Commanders,” the statement read, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch."

That last bit of the statement — “provide honest, objective information, analysis and commentary . . .” — makes it seem like Snyder was abusing his power to dictate what radio hosts said about the team, or control the narrative.

On Tuesday, 980 morning host Kevin Sheehan made an announcement on behalf of the station. Like Audacy’s statement, Sheehan cited a yearning for the station’s radio shows to provide objective analysis about the team.

"The team and our company disagreed on the value of the broadcast. It’s also very important for us as a sports talk station, even as a long-time flagship station for the team, it was important for us to continue to be able to provide honest, objective information and analysis about the team on our talk shows."

What does this mean for game simulcasts carried on ESPN 630 AM and WMAL 105.9 FM, both of which are owned by Cumulus Media? That remains to be seen, but the Commanders, thanks to Snyder’s slew of off-field distractions, now need to negotiate a new deal for a flagship broadcast company.

That is, if anyone is willing to take them on.