Daniel Snyder is the current owner of the Washington Redskins football team. In 1999, he purchased the team and their stadium for $800 million following the death of the previous owner Jack Kent Cooke, the most expensive transaction in sporting history.
While Snyder has been owner, the Redskins' annual profit has increased nearly $100 million. When he purchased the Redskins in 1999, the team's annual revenue was $10 million lower than the highest grossing team at the time, the Dallas Cowboys. As of 2004, the Redskin's income exceeds the Cowboys by nearly $40 million, making them the highest grossing team in the National Football League. This is in part due to sponsorship arrangements with Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and Nextel, but mainly due to a $207 million deal with FedEx to gain naming rights to the Redskin's stadium, now named FedEx Field.
Snyder often directly meddles in Redskins' operations and player acquisition. He has served as the de facto GM for the team over the years. Throughout his tenure, he has invested a great amount of money into high-profile players, including Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jeremiah Trotter, Jeff George , and Clinton Portis. However, since Snyder assumed control, these investments have not translated into much success on the football field as the Redskins have only managed a 38-42 overall record and have made the playoffs only once.
Before purchasing the Redskins, Snyder made most of his money by cheating vendors and other small businesses in his quest to build his marketing company, Snyder Communications , which was later sold to the Havas group in the largest transaction in the history of the advertising/market industry. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Ventiv Health , and is actively involved in several other organizations.