One of the more interesting and underrated NFL feuds over the last six months is Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay vs. Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder.
It all began when Irsay was the first owner on record to question if the league should potentially remove Snyder as owner.
“I believe there is merit to removing him as owner,” Irsay told reporters at October’s owners meetings.
The Commanders weren’t happy and responded.
In subsequent interviews, Irsay doubled down on his stance. Shortly after Irsay’s comments, the two teams met on the field in Indianapolis, with Snyder’s Commanders prevailing with a 17-16 win.
Since then, things have been quiet on the Irsay front regarding Snyder, partly because NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t want owners commenting negatively toward Snyder during his attempts to sell the Commanders.
Then there was the strange situation from the NFL owners meetings in March where a known associate of Snyder was caught recording Irsay when he spoke to the media.
On Sunday night, one tweet from Irsay possibly reignited the feud.
If any NFL Team,attempted to contact Andrew Luck (or any associate of him)… to play for their Franchise – it would be a clear Violation of the League’s Tampering Policy.
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) May 8, 2023
Irsay is referring to an ESPN article from John Keim on Washington quarterback Sam Howell. One passage from Howell’s article was of particular interest to Irsay.
Even so, they didn’t feel the same urgency they did last offseason, when they called every team that might have a quarterback available. They even phoned about retired Andrew Luck, just in case.
Luck is the retired Colts quarterback who stepped away from the NFL on Aug. 24, 2019, after seven NFL seasons at the age of 29. When Luck retired, the Colts still held his rights. So, in Washington’s desperation to find a quarterback in 2022, someone from the team allegedly contacted Luck — or the Colts — we aren’t clear who, to see if he was interested in a return to the NFL.
Remember when we were told the Commanders had called every NFL team about potential quarterback availability?
The key here is, did the Commanders contact Luck or the Colts about Luck? There’s a huge difference.
If Washington did contact Luck, the penalty could be severe. The Miami Dolphins were stripped of a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, a third-round pick in 2024, a $1.5 million fine — and suspension — for owner Stephen Ross and other penalties for allegedly tampering with Tom Brady and the agent for head coach Sean Payton who was under contract with the Saints.
Will the Commanders have a response?
Snyder reached a preliminary agreement to sell the franchise to Josh Harris recently, but the deal is not complete.