Controversy continues to envelop the Washington Football Team, with a Wall Street Journal report indicating Friday that minority ownership partners are trying to pressure majority owner Daniel Snyder to sell his stake in the club.

There have been no indications that Snyder is even remotely interested in ending his 21-year tenure as the football team's owner.

A total of 40 percent of the team is owned by minority partners Fred Smith, Robert Rothman and Dwight Schar. The WSJ report indicated that the three owners have hired an investment firm to sell their portions of the longtime NFL franchise.

The team, and the minority shares, though, would be worth much more if they were sold together. Potential buyers have walked away, according to the report, over Snyder's reluctance to part with his stake in the franchise.

The Washington Football Team has been in turmoil off the field. Not only did the franchise remove its controversial nickname following sponsor threats, the organization is also conducting an internal investigation into sexual harassment and verbal abuse claims by female employees.

Now comes word of a lawsuit filed by Snyder this week claiming "a defamatory and false story" was revealed about him by a current team investor, according to an NBC Sports report.

Snyder purchased the team for a reported $800 million from the estate of former owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1999. Last year, Forbes estimated the value of the team at $3.4 billion, seventh highest in the NFL.

--Field Level Media