Washington Redskins Football Team Under Dan Snyder’s Hands
Washington Redskins, together with Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, was purchased by Daniel Snyder in May 1999 for $800 million after the death of Jack Kent Cooke, the previous owner. This purchase that Dan Snyder made was considered the most expensive transaction in the history of sports at that time. The entire $800 million though didn’t come from Snyder’s pocket because the deal was mainly financed through loans or borrowed money. The loan servicing costs are estimated to be $50 million annually.
Under Snyder’s hands, the annual profit of Redskins increased to about $100 million. As of the year 2007, the Redskins team was ahead of the Dallas Boys, which is their biggest rival, in terms of gross profit. Redskins being the highest-grossing team was in part due to the sponsorship arrangements made by Snyder with Coca Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Sprint and of course FedEx. The $207 million dollar deal with FedEx led to the Redskins’ stadium being named FedExField.
With the desire to make more profits, Snyder added more club seats and suites to the stadium to enlarge its capacity. He also sold the club seats that rendered useless under Cooke’s reign. Parking around the stadium was also improved. This facility expansion was done to generate revenue and has contributed to the increase in Redskins’ annual profit.
As far as the team is concerned, the Redskins underwent numerous changes in terms of coaching and quarterback. They had 7 head coach changes in 12 seasons and Redskins just won 3 seasons under Snyder’s presidency.
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