NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has appointed Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to the league’s committee that oversees the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The committee is responsible for the league’s financial relationship with the Hall of Fame and handles any other issues that arise with the Canton, Ohio, shrine. The committee meets with the Hall’s Board of Trustees at the NFL meetings every March.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Goodell added Snyder, Dallas owner Jerry Jones and Green Bay’s new president, John Jones, to the committee with the idea of broadening its perspective. Pittsburgh’s Dan Rooney chairs the committee, which also includes Arizona’s Bill Bidwill, Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, Denver’s Pat Bowlen, San Francisco’s Denise DeBartolo York and Tennessee’s Bud Adams.
Since Snyder took command of the Redskins in 1999, nine less senior owners have taken control of franchises, moving him out of the junior quarter of leadership.
Hall spokesman Joe Horrigan said the committee usually includes owners from franchises with storied histories like the Redskins.
“This is an honor for me as we begin to investigate new ways to connect football fans everywhere with the history of the game, its leading players and other Hall of Fame enshrinees,” Snyder said in a statement.
Snyder also serves on the league’s broadcast, business ventures and digital media committees.
No activity expected
The Redskins will keep three roster spots open through this weekend’s rookie minicamp, meaning some of the 60-plus players who will be invited on a tryout basis should return for the full squad minicamp in June.
That also means Washington has no immediate interest in former Carolina receiver Keyshawn Johnson or Kansas City defensive end Eric Hicks, high-profile veterans who were cut Tuesday.
Mitchell update
Former Redskins linebacker Kevin Mitchell died of a massive heart attack, a preliminary autopsy report concluded. Mitchell, who played for Washington from 2001 to 2003, was found dead in his Ashburn, Va., home Monday. He was 36.
Mitchell’s funeral will take place Saturday at Life Center Ministries International in his native Harrisburg, Pa. In lieu of flowers, Mitchell’s family asks mourners send donations to the Kevin Mitchell Memorial Achievement Fund, P.O. Box 405, Hershey, Pa., 17033.
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