Daniel Snyder

Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and former owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He founded the marketing company Snyder Communications in 1989, amassing a wealth that led him to buy the Commanders, then known as the Redskins, from Jack Kent Cooke's estate in 1999 for $800 million. Snyder is widely considered among the worst owners in the history of professional sports, with the team marred by several controversies and managing six playoff appearances, four division titles, and two playoff wins during his 24 years of ownership.

In the early 2020s, Snyder was investigated by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for allegations of sexual harassment and enabling a toxic workplace culture with the Commanders, and by state and federal agencies for illegally withholding security deposits from season ticket holders and offering hush money to accusors. Amid financial issues and increasing pressure from the NFL, Snyder sold the Commanders in 2023 to a group headed by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion, the largest sports team sale at the time. He has lived in London since 2022.

Snyder was born on November 23, 1964, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The son of Arlette (née Amsellem) and Gerald Snyder, he was raised in a Jewish household with his brother Zack Snyder. His father was a freelance writer who wrote for United Press International and National Geographic. 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 to Rockville, Maryland, where Snyder graduated from Charles W. Woodward High School.

His first job was at a B. Dalton bookstore in White Flint Mall. 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 claimed to have earned US$1 million running the business with a friend out of his parents' apartment.

Snyder courted real estate entrepreneur Mortimer Zuckerman, whose U.S. 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 closed after two years.

With an investment from his father, Snyder and his sister Michele founded the marketing company Snyder Communications in 1988. They concentrated on wallboards in doctors' offices and colleges. They combined the advertisements with the distribution of product samples, such as soaps and packages of medicine, to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Snyder continued to expand its activities to different aspects of outsourced marketing. In 1992, the company expanded into telemarketing with a focus on the immigrant market. Revenues rose from $2.7 million in 1991 to $9 million in 1993.

Snyder became the youngest CEO of a New York Stock Exchange listed company at the age of 32 when it underwent an initial public offering in September 1996. His top investors, including media mogul Barry Diller and 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 through a string of acquisitions, such as Arnold Worldwide 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 $2 billion. Snyder's personal share of the proceeds was estimated to be $300 million.