Attorney General Miyares Announces $1.3 Million Settlement with Washington Commanders for Unreturned Ticket Deposits
RICHMOND, VA – Attorney General Jason Miyares today announced an agreement with Pro-Football LLC, the current owner of the Washington Commanders, ensuring the return of hundreds of thousands of dollars to consumers impacted by the team’s failure to return ticket deposits to season ticket holders.
On April 25, 2022, the Attorney General opened an investigation into the Washington Commanders’ practice of retaining security deposits. As a result of that investigation, over $600,000 in deposits have been returned to approximately 475 season ticket holders to date. Additionally, the team has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties and costs to resolve this investigation.
The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that since at least 1997, the Washington Commanders had entered long-term contracts with season ticket holders requiring some to pay refundable security deposits. Despite contractual obligations to return these deposits within thirty days of contract expiration, the Commanders unlawfully retained significant sums of security deposits, often imposing additional conditions on consumers seeking refunds.
In 2014, the team sent approximately 650 form letters to former season ticket holders with unrefunded security deposits on file, representing that it would remit unclaimed funds to state unclaimed property offices. Despite that commitment, the team failed to remit a single unclaimed security deposit to a state unclaimed property office until at least 2023.
The settlement contains terms aimed at protecting consumers and has been filed for approval with the Loudoun County Circuit Court.