Daniel Snyder
Encyclopedia
Daniel M. Snyder is the current owner of the Washington Redskins
American football
team, owner of the Dick Clark Productions
television production company, and primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting
, which is home to the Redskins Radio Network. Snyder has a net worth
of $1.05 billion. The Redskins have experienced just three winning seasons during the tenure of his presidency, while undergoing numerous coaching and quarterback changes.
fans to see their hockey team play in Philadelphia. He was disappointed when he found his fliers littering the streets after a tough loss.
By age 20, he had dropped out of the University of Maryland, College Park
and was running his own business, leasing jets to fly college students to spring break in Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean. Snyder claims to have cleared US$1 million running the business out of his parents' bedroom with a friend and several telephone lines.
Snyder courted real estate entrepreneur Mortimer Zuckerman
, whose US News & World Report was also interested in the college market, and who agreed to finance his push to publish Campus USA, a magazine for college students. Zuckerman and Fred Drasner, co-publisher of Zuckerman's New York Daily News
, invested nearly $3 million behind Campus USA. That venture could not generate enough paid advertising and was forced to close after three years.
Despite the collapse of CampusUSA, Snyder began to pursue WallBoards, an advertising venture designed to reach "targeted populations" with the backing of Drasner and Zuckerman.
Snyder would go on to purchase the Washington Redskins.
, a limited partnership of US News & World Reports. Their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as direct marketing
, database marketing
, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centers, and field sales. Snyder's WallBoards were initially the sole source of revenue for this venture with displays being posted in hospital maternity areas, private daycare centres, and Fixed Based Operations (FBO), or private aircraft lounges in major airports throughout the country. Proprietary product sampling was introduced in 1992 through their network of private daycare centers.
In an initial public offering
for SNC in September 1996, Daniel Snyder became the youngest ever CEO of a New York Stock Exchange
listed company at the age of 32.
He expanded the company aggressively through a string of acquisitions, and in April 2000, Snyder Communications was sold to the French advertising and marketing services group Havas
in an all-stock transaction valued at in excess of US$2 billion, the largest transaction in the history of the advertising/market industry. Snyder’s personal share of the proceeds was estimated to be US$300 million.
Snyder owns a corporate jet, a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express XRS with tail number N904DS and it is hangared at Dulles International Airport. The tail sports a Redskin helmet. The Redskins have offices and a practice field in nearby Ashburn, Virginia.
. At the time, it was the most expensive transaction in sporting history. The deal was financed largely through borrowed money, including $340 million borrowed from Société Générale
and $155 million debt assumed on the stadium. Annual loan servicing costs are an estimated $50 million.
Snyder currently owns expansion rights to an Arena Football League team for the Washington, D.C.
market.
ahead of the Dallas Cowboys
, who are, incidentally, the team's biggest on-field rivals. This is in part due to sponsorship arrangements with Anheuser-Busch
, Coca-Cola
, and Sprint, but mainly due to a $207 million deal with FedEx to gain naming rights to the Redskins' stadium, now named FedExField
.
Snyder paid attention to revenue generation by adding more suites and club seats, enlarging capacity to a, at the time, league high 91,000, and he sold the club seats that had gone empty under the Cooke family reign. Traffic and parking around the stadium have been improved, but access to the stadium remains poor.
After a 3-7 start to the 2009 Washington Redskins season, criticism of Snyder and his general manager, Vinny Cerrato
, escalated, while sportswriters referred to the pair as "Dumb and Dumber". Fans and football analysts have criticized the revolving-door of Redskins head coaches employed since Snyder bought the team, as well as Snyder and Cerrato's pattern of hiring expensive free agents and trading away draft picks for older players instead of recruiting young talent through the NFL draft. Vinny Cerrato resigned on 17 December 2009.
Under Snyder, the Redskins have also sued season ticket holders who were unable to pay during the 2008-2009 U.S. recession. Snyder did this despite his claim that there are over 200,000 people on the season ticket waiting list.
Part way through the 2009 season, Snyder banned all signs from FedEx Field, leading to further fan discontentment.
Redskins fans have also expressed discontentment about rising ticket and parking prices, and Snyder's policy of charging fans for tailgates in special areas of the stadium lot.
fined Snyder $100 for cutting down more than 130 old-growth trees near his $10 million Maryland
residence above the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
and the Potomac River
without first obtaining permission from the Commission, although the National Park Service
had signed off on the project. Lenn Harley, a real estate broker
who was not involved in Snyder's purchase of the estate but was familiar with the area, estimated that the relatively unobstructed view of the river and its surroundings that resulted from Snyder's clearing could add $500,000 to $1 million to the home's value.
In July 2006, Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting
launched a trio of sports radio
stations in his home market of Washington, D.C.
known as Triple X ESPN Radio but, due to Snyder's perceived heavy-handedness, referred to as 'Dan Jazeera'. He purchased other radio stations in the mid-Atlantic region, and intends to broadcast coverage of Washington Redskins games on all of his stations.
In July 2006, Snyder and other investors signed a deal to provide financing to the production company run by Tom Cruise
and his partner, Paula Wagner
. This came one week after Paramount Pictures
severed its ties with Cruise and Wagner. Snyder is credited as an executive producer for the 2008 movie Valkyrie
, which stars Cruise.
In February 2007, it was announced that Snyder's Red Zone Capital Management would purchase Johnny Rockets
, the 1950s-themed diner chain.
On 19 June 2007, Snyder purchased Dick Clark Productions
for $175 million.
In October 2007, Snyder confirmed in London
that he is "actively looking for the right opportunity" to enter into business in the Barclays Premier League, most likely through the outright purchase of a soccer club. Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
of North London is reported to be the most likely team to be bought by Snyder, which is currently on the market for about $725 million (£450 million).
Snyder is the chairman of the board of Ventiv Health, and a board member of McLeodUSA
.
On 3 May 2008, Snyder announced at the Larry King Cardiac Foundation in Washington, D.C., that Tanya was being treated for breast cancer. She underwent surgery on Friday, May 2, 2008 at Minnesota
's Mayo Clinic
.
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, owner of the Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions is an entertainment production company founded by entertainer Dick Clark...
television production company, and primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting is a media company based in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The primary investors in Red Zebra are Daniel Snyder, better known as the owner of the Washington Redskins football franchise, and Dwight Schar, a minority owner of the team. Both are members of the...
, which is home to the Redskins Radio Network. Snyder has a net worth
Net worth
In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time...
of $1.05 billion. The Redskins have experienced just three winning seasons during the tenure of his presidency, while undergoing numerous coaching and quarterback changes.
Early life
At 17, Snyder experienced his first business failure when he partnered with his father to sell bus-trip packages to Washington CapitalsWashington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
fans to see their hockey team play in Philadelphia. He was disappointed when he found his fliers littering the streets after a tough loss.
By age 20, he had dropped out of the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and was running his own business, leasing jets to fly college students to spring break in Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean. Snyder claims to have cleared US$1 million running the business out of his parents' bedroom with a friend and several telephone lines.
Snyder courted real estate entrepreneur Mortimer Zuckerman
Mortimer Zuckerman
Mortimer Benjamin "Mort" Zuckerman is a Canadian-born American business magnate with interests primarily in magazines, publishing, and real estate. He is now a naturalized citizen of the United States....
, whose US News & World Report was also interested in the college market, and who agreed to finance his push to publish Campus USA, a magazine for college students. Zuckerman and Fred Drasner, co-publisher of Zuckerman's New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, invested nearly $3 million behind Campus USA. That venture could not generate enough paid advertising and was forced to close after three years.
Despite the collapse of CampusUSA, Snyder began to pursue WallBoards, an advertising venture designed to reach "targeted populations" with the backing of Drasner and Zuckerman.
Snyder would go on to purchase the Washington Redskins.
Business
In 1988, Snyder and his sister Michelle founded a marketing company, Snyder Communications LPSnyder Communications
Snyder Communications Inc. was founded in 1988 by Daniel M. Snyder and his sister Michelle Snyder. Their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as Direct marketing, database marketing, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centres,...
, a limited partnership of US News & World Reports. Their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as direct marketing
Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...
, database marketing
Database marketing
Database marketing is a form of direct marketing using databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes...
, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centers, and field sales. Snyder's WallBoards were initially the sole source of revenue for this venture with displays being posted in hospital maternity areas, private daycare centres, and Fixed Based Operations (FBO), or private aircraft lounges in major airports throughout the country. Proprietary product sampling was introduced in 1992 through their network of private daycare centers.
In an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
for SNC in September 1996, Daniel Snyder became the youngest ever CEO of a New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
listed company at the age of 32.
He expanded the company aggressively through a string of acquisitions, and in April 2000, Snyder Communications was sold to the French advertising and marketing services group Havas
Havas
Havas is the second largest advertising group in France and is a "Global advertising and communications services group" and the sixth-largest global advertising and communications group worldwide, operating on the communications consulting market through three main operational divisions:*Euro RSCG...
in an all-stock transaction valued at in excess of US$2 billion, the largest transaction in the history of the advertising/market industry. Snyder’s personal share of the proceeds was estimated to be US$300 million.
Snyder owns a corporate jet, a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express XRS with tail number N904DS and it is hangared at Dulles International Airport. The tail sports a Redskin helmet. The Redskins have offices and a practice field in nearby Ashburn, Virginia.
Washington Redskins football team ownership
In May 1999, Snyder purchased the Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium for $800 million following the death of previous owner Jack Kent CookeJack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
. At the time, it was the most expensive transaction in sporting history. The deal was financed largely through borrowed money, including $340 million borrowed from Société Générale
Société Générale
Société Générale S.A. is a large European Bank and a major Financial Services company that has a substantial global presence. Its registered office is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, while its head office is in the Tours Société Générale in the business district of La...
and $155 million debt assumed on the stadium. Annual loan servicing costs are an estimated $50 million.
Snyder currently owns expansion rights to an Arena Football League team for the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
market.
Facility expansion
While Snyder has been owner, the Redskins' annual profit increased nearly $100 million. As of 2007, the Redskins are the highest grossing team in the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
ahead of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, who are, incidentally, the team's biggest on-field rivals. This is in part due to sponsorship arrangements with Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, and Sprint, but mainly due to a $207 million deal with FedEx to gain naming rights to the Redskins' stadium, now named FedExField
FedExField
FedExField is a football stadium located in an unincorporated area near the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the old Capital Centre . FedExField is the home of the Washington Redskins football team...
.
Snyder paid attention to revenue generation by adding more suites and club seats, enlarging capacity to a, at the time, league high 91,000, and he sold the club seats that had gone empty under the Cooke family reign. Traffic and parking around the stadium have been improved, but access to the stadium remains poor.
Public backlash against Snyder
Since Snyder bought the Redskins, the team has had a losing record (86-106 through the end of the 2010 season). They have also gone through seven head coaches in 12 seasons. In October 2009, several articles in Washington area newspapers criticized Snyder, alleging that his managerial style was partly to blame for the Redskins' on-field struggles. A 24 November 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal also questioned whether Snyder's leadership style had alienated the Redskins fan-base, questioning "Are the Redskins Losing Washington?" The article quotes from a Harris Interactive poll showing that whereas the Redskins in 2003 were the 6th most popular NFL team nationally, by 2009 they had fallen to No. 17.After a 3-7 start to the 2009 Washington Redskins season, criticism of Snyder and his general manager, Vinny Cerrato
Vinny Cerrato
Vinny Cerrato is the former Executive Vice President for Football Operations for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and actor in the feature film Kindergarten Ninja.-Playing career:...
, escalated, while sportswriters referred to the pair as "Dumb and Dumber". Fans and football analysts have criticized the revolving-door of Redskins head coaches employed since Snyder bought the team, as well as Snyder and Cerrato's pattern of hiring expensive free agents and trading away draft picks for older players instead of recruiting young talent through the NFL draft. Vinny Cerrato resigned on 17 December 2009.
Under Snyder, the Redskins have also sued season ticket holders who were unable to pay during the 2008-2009 U.S. recession. Snyder did this despite his claim that there are over 200,000 people on the season ticket waiting list.
Part way through the 2009 season, Snyder banned all signs from FedEx Field, leading to further fan discontentment.
Redskins fans have also expressed discontentment about rising ticket and parking prices, and Snyder's policy of charging fans for tailgates in special areas of the stadium lot.
Libel Suit
Threatening a lawsuit in January 2011, Snyder demanded dismissal of the Washington City Paper's sports writer Dave McKenna, who had meticulously compiled a lengthy article, The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder, documenting the encyclopedia of errors made by Snyder. Other sportswriters have come out in support of McKenna. The lawsuit was filed on February 2, 2011. On April 26, 2011, Snyder's lawyers added the reporter who wrote the story, Dave McKenna, as a defendant. On September 10th, 2011, Snyder dropped his libel lawsuit against both the Washington City Paper and Dave McKenna.Other ventures
In December 2004, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning CommissionMaryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland.-History:...
fined Snyder $100 for cutting down more than 130 old-growth trees near his $10 million Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
residence above the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and West Virginia. The park was established as a National Monument in 1961 by President Dwight D...
and the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
without first obtaining permission from the Commission, although the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
had signed off on the project. Lenn Harley, a real estate broker
Real estate broker
A real estate broker, real estate agent or realtor is a party who acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate/real property and attempts to find sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy...
who was not involved in Snyder's purchase of the estate but was familiar with the area, estimated that the relatively unobstructed view of the river and its surroundings that resulted from Snyder's clearing could add $500,000 to $1 million to the home's value.
In July 2006, Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting is a media company based in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The primary investors in Red Zebra are Daniel Snyder, better known as the owner of the Washington Redskins football franchise, and Dwight Schar, a minority owner of the team. Both are members of the...
launched a trio of sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
stations in his home market of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
known as Triple X ESPN Radio but, due to Snyder's perceived heavy-handedness, referred to as 'Dan Jazeera'. He purchased other radio stations in the mid-Atlantic region, and intends to broadcast coverage of Washington Redskins games on all of his stations.
In July 2006, Snyder and other investors signed a deal to provide financing to the production company run by Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and his partner, Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner is an American film producer and film executive.-Early career:Wagner began her career at Creative Artists Agency. In 1993 she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W's first film, Mission: Impossible, was an international hit that brought the...
. This came one week after Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
severed its ties with Cruise and Wagner. Snyder is credited as an executive producer for the 2008 movie Valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
, which stars Cruise.
In February 2007, it was announced that Snyder's Red Zone Capital Management would purchase Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant that had become a common sight by the 1950s...
, the 1950s-themed diner chain.
On 19 June 2007, Snyder purchased Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions is an entertainment production company founded by entertainer Dick Clark...
for $175 million.
In October 2007, Snyder confirmed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that he is "actively looking for the right opportunity" to enter into business in the Barclays Premier League, most likely through the outright purchase of a soccer club. Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
of North London is reported to be the most likely team to be bought by Snyder, which is currently on the market for about $725 million (£450 million).
Snyder is the chairman of the board of Ventiv Health, and a board member of McLeodUSA
McLeodUSA
McLeodUSA, based in Hiawatha, Iowa, is one of the nation’s largest independent competitive local exchange carriers . The company also has offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and The Woodlands, Texas....
.
Personal
Snyder is married to Tanya, with whom he has two daughters and a son.On 3 May 2008, Snyder announced at the Larry King Cardiac Foundation in Washington, D.C., that Tanya was being treated for breast cancer. She underwent surgery on Friday, May 2, 2008 at Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
's Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
.
External links
- Official web site of the Washington Redskins
- Official web site of the Redskins Radio Network
- Investor profile of Red Zone Capital Management LLC on BusinessWeek.com
- Investor profile of Red Zebra Broadcasting LLC on BusinessWeek.com
- Full cast and crew for Valkyrie (2008) on imdb.com
- The Dan Snyder You Don't Know. Washingtonian magazine. September 1, 2006.
- Sporting News article, August 28, 2000
- Forward Motion, Washington Post, September 15, 2002
- Snyder's Six Flags Sinking Fast", Washingtonian, 25 January 2008.