Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is a businessman who is the majority owner of the Washington Redskins American football team, founder of Snyder Communications and primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is home to the Redskins Radio ESPN.
Early life and education
Snyder was born on November 23, 1964 in Maryland, the son of Arlette (née Amsellem) and Gerald Seymour "Gerry" Snyder. His family is Jewish. His father was a freelance writer who wrote for United Press International and National Geographic. He attended Hillandale Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland. At age 12, he moved to Henley-on-Thames, a small town near London, where he attended private school. At age 14, he returned to the United States and lived with his grandmother in Queens, New York. A year later, his family moved back to Maryland and he graduated from Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville, Maryland. His first job was at B. Dalton bookstore in the White Flint Mall.
At 17, Snyder experienced his first business failure when he partnered with his father to sell bus-trip packages to Washington Capitals fans to see their hockey team play in Philadelphia. 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 $3 million in Campus USA. The venture did not generate enough paid advertising and was forced to close after two years.
Career
In 1989, Snyder and his sister Michele founded a wallboard advertising (the sale of advertisements placed on boards inside buildings) company with seed money from his father, who took a second mortgage on his property in England, and his sister, who maxed out her credit cards at $35,000. They concentrated on wallboards in doctors' offices (where there was a captive audience) and colleges. They married the advertisement with the distribution of product samples â€" such as soaps and packages of medicine â€" to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The company was named Snyder Communications LP. The business was a great success and Snyder and his sister grew the business organically and through acquisitions and expanded its activities to all aspects of outsourced marketing, including direct marketing, database marketing, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centers, and field sales. They expanded their geography from colleges and doctors' offices to hospital maternity areas, private daycare centers, and Fixed Based Operations (FBO), or private aircraft lounges in major airports throughout the country. In 1992, the company expanded into telemarketing with a focus on the yet untapped immigrant market. Snyder Communications revenues rose from $2.7 million in 1991 to $4.1 million in 1992 and $9 million in 1993. 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. Snyder's top investors, including media mogul Barry Diller, New York investor Dan Lufkin, and Democratic Party icon Robert Strauss, earned significant returns on their initial investment. Mortimer Zuckerman and Fred Drasner, whom Snyder owed $3 million from the failure of his first business venture, were given company stock, which ended up being worth over $500 million. His parents sold their stock in the company for over $60 million.
He continued to expand the company aggressively through a string of acquisitions, including Arnold Communications in 1997. By 1998, the company had over 12,000 employees and $1 billion in annual revenues. 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.
Washington Redskins football team ownership
In May 1999, Snyder purchased the Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (now FedExField) for $800 million following the death of previous owner Jack Kent Cooke. 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. In order to pay down the team's debt, in 2003 he sold 15% of the team to real estate developer Dwight Schar for $200 million, 15% to Florida financier Robert Rothman for a like amount; and 5% to Frederick W. Smith, the founder of Federal Express, leaving him with a 65% ownership interest.
Facility expansion
Since Snyder became owner, the Redskins' annual revenue increased from more than $100 million a year when Snyder took over the team in 1999 to around $245 million. As of 2014, the Redskins are the third highest grossing team in the National Football League behind the Dallas Cowboys, who are the team's biggest on-field rivals, and the New England Patriots. 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.
Committee appointments
As of 2017, Snyder serves on six National Football League committees, including appointments to the Broadcast Committee, the Business Ventures Committee, the Digital Media Committee (for which he serves as Co-Chair), the International Committee, the Stadium Committee and the Hall of Fame Committee (which oversees the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio). Separately, he is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Public backlash
Since Snyder bought the Redskins, the team has had a losing record (125-162-1 through the end of the 2016 season). They have also gone through eight head coaches in 16 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 November 24, 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, but in 2014 had climbed to #10.
After a 3â€"7 start to the 2009 Washington Redskins season, criticism of Snyder and his general manager, Vinny Cerrato, escalated. 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 December 17, 2009.
Under Snyder, the Redskins sued season ticket holders who were unable to pay during the 2008â€"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 FedExField, leading to further fan discontentment. The ban was lifted shortly thereafter.
Writing in Forbes Magazine, Monte Burke states that disaster for Snyder has made the team name controversy worse than it needed to be, but there are others that also defend his position
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. The Redskins did not raise ticket prices from 2006 through 2012. Fans have also complained about the game-day experience. While problems such as traffic and parking were inherited when Snyder bought the team, and are outside of his control, fans have expressed displeasure with Snyder led initiatives that they feel distract from the enjoyment of attendance. One fan explains:
“There’s too much hoopla ... Fireworks. Loud music. It’s not about the game anymore. They’re trying to generate excitement in an artificial way. It’s a distraction. Redskins fans are loyal and loudâ€"they can do it by themselves.â€
Defamation suit
Threatening a lawsuit in January 2011, Snyder demanded dismissal of Washington City Paper's sports writer Dave McKenna, who had penned a lengthy article for the alternative newspaper called, The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder, creating a critical list of controversies involving Snyder. McKenna had been needling Snyder for years in his columns, and the front-page of the article had a defaced picture of Snyder with Devil's Horns and a scraggly beard, which incensed Snyder who felt the picture was antisemitic. Other sportswriters have come out in support of McKenna. In a statement released by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, while acknowledging that public figures are fair game for criticism, said the artwork used by the City Paper was reminiscent of "virulent anti-Semitism going back to the Middle Ages" and urged the City Paper issue an apology. Mike Madden of the City Paper issued a statement saying they take accusations of antisemitism very seriously and said the artwork was meant to "resemble the type of scribbling that teenagers everywhere have been using to deface photos" and the cover art was not an antisemitic caricature. Snyder made good on his threat, and on February 2, 2011 filed suit against the City Paper. Two months later McKenna was also added to the suit as a defendant. However less than four months later in September 2011, Snyder dropped the suit against both parties.
Name controversy
Snyder has been pressured to change the team's name by various fans, politicians, and advocacy groups because the word redskin is a derogatory term for Native Americans. In May 2013, in response to a question regarding the teams' Federal Trademark, Snyder told USA Today "We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVERâ€"you can use caps."
Other ventures
Snyder owned expansion rights to an Arena Football League team for the Washington, D.C. market before the 2009 demise of the original league. He purchased the rights to the team for $4 million in 1999. The team was going to be called the Washington Warriors and play their games at the Comcast Center in 2003 but the team never started.
In 2005, he bought 12% of the stock of amusement park operator Six Flags through his private equity company RedZone Capital. He later gained control of the board placing his friend and ESPN executive Mark Shapiro as CEO and himself as chairman. In April 2009, the New York Stock Exchange delisted Six Flags' stock as it had fallen below the minimal required market capitalization. In June 2009, Six Flags announced that they were delaying a $15 million debt payment and two weeks later, Six Flags filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of the reorganization, 92% of the company ended up in the hands of their lenders and Dan Snyder and Mark Shapiro were removed from their positions. Snyder lost his entire investment.
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 private equity firm Red Zone Capital Management would purchase Johnny Rockets, the 1950s-themed diner chain. RedZone Capital Management sold the company to Sun Capital Partners in 2013.
On June 19, 2007, Snyder purchased Dick Clark Productions for $175 million. In 2012, Dick Clark Productions was sold to a group including investment firm Guggenheim Partners.
In October 2007, Snyder confirmed in London that he is "actively looking for the right opportunity" to enter into business in the 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.
Philanthropy
Snyder is an active philanthropist. He contributed $1 million to help the victims of the September 11 attacks; he donated $600,000 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina; and he paid the shipping costs for charitable food shipments to aid those affected by the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand. His disaster relief efforts continued in 2016 following Hurricane Matthew, dispatching his private plane to provide emergency supplies in the Bahamas and medical supplies to Hospital Bernard Mevs in Port au Prince, Haiti.
In 2000, Snyder founded the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, which is active in the Washington, D.C. area.
Snyder has been a long-time supporter of Youth For Tomorrow, an organization founded by former Redskins head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs. In April 2010, the organization presented Snyder with its Distinguished Leader Award.
In 2014, Snyder formed the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation to provide opportunities and resources to aid Tribal communities. The foundation was formed to address the challenges in the daily lives of Native Americans.
Snyder has also supported the Washington’s Children’s Hospital, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and other organizations. In May 2014, Snyder and his wife Tanya received the Charles B. Wang International Children’s Award from the NCMEC.
Personal life
In 1994, he married Tanya Ivey. Tanya Snyder is now a national spokesperson for Breast Cancer Awareness, and a former fashion model from Atlanta. They have three children.
In 2005, Snyder was inducted as a member of the Greater Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
In December 2004, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission 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. The controversy around the tree-cutting led to extreme harassment and an eventual trial of the park ranger who stood up against the park's actions regarding the trees.
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.
References
External links
- Daniel Snyder on IMDb