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Taking the throne

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has taken the NFL by storm. He's young, he's brash and he's totally in charge.

ASHBURN, Va. -- As he has done so many times since purchasing the Washington Redskins 16 months ago, Daniel Snyder settles into a cushioned lawn chair, watching his team prepare for what he expects will be a Super Bowl season.

Snyder's limousine is parked in front of Redskins Park, the team's training facility in suburban Washington D.C. Behind the facility is the spot where he occasionally lands his helicopter for grand entrances and quick exits.

The fans, who have paid an unprecedented $20 ($10 admission, $10 parking) to see the team go through mid-summer drills, watch from stands opposite Snyder's throne.

This day, however, is different. Snyder is distraught by the on-going battle a nephew is waging against leukemia. He sits in relative quiet instead of his usual clapping and cheering. "He's only five percent here," vice president Karl Swanson explains. "He just didn't know where else to go."

[Times art: Rossie Newson]

The scene is a contradiction in characterization. He is considered by many an emotional, hot-tempered, free-spending maverick in a league known for primarily staid and conservative owners.

At the same time, it's telling he would turn to the Redskins in a time of sorrow.

Critics call him overly demanding and point to the fact an estimated 70 people have left the organization since Snyder, 35, bought it. The exact number is unclear, but the fact he once threatened to dismiss an employee for calling him "Dan" instead of "Mr. Snyder" hints at why the turnover rate has been so high.

Supporters note Snyder is a father of two who has donated millions to a local children's hospital after it helped his wife through difficult pregnancies. He also has used the Redskins' platform to create a charitable foundation of 45 corporations, which will donate between $10,000 and $250,000 annually.

As he watches the final training camp practice, he tells a team official he is too consumed with worry over his nephew to talk to the media. Apparently, Demanding Dan and Sensitive Dan are rolled into one.

"Look, I am ripe for criticism," Snyder told The Sporting News. "I am a young, aggressive guy, so it makes for good media. But this is all it is. Time is on my side. People who spend time with me and get to know me and get to see me understand what I am all about."

The training camp admission charges are cited as a prime example of the misunderstanding. Snyder moved the preseason practices from Frostburg, Md., to Ashburn in part because he hated the Maryland drive, but also because he wanted the team to be closer to the fans. The admission and parking fees were used to provide concessions and the NFL Experience interactive games at camp. Team officials insist the Redskins lost more than $1-million despite the costs to fans.

Snyder, of course, doesn't have a problem charging fans because he paid so much for the team. Snyder won by offering $800-million in a complex process that did not allow John Kent Cooke to retain ownership of the franchise, which had been in his family for generations, without putting the team up for bid.

"I think his age, the notoriety and the attention that was brought because of the way the sale was handled has brought a lot of that (criticism)," Redskins coach Norv Turner said. "Because he was so new to this area, because the team had been owned by the Cookes for such a long time, I think it's gotten a lot of attention from the outside world."

Snyder is $495-million in debt on the team and has tapped every revenue stream to help retire it. He's added nearly 3,000 seats and 12 luxury suites to FedEx Field, aptly named because the shipping company paid $205-million for the naming rights. The team is developing two television shows and a weekly newspaper to generate more revenue. Ticket prices, already the highest in the league by some estimates, rose by as much as 35 percent depending on the location.

But Snyder, a college dropout who built his Snyder Communications into a company with annual revenues of $800-million, insists he didn't buy the Redskins just to make money.

"Number one, we're trying to create the best and most (successful) team that we can create," said Snyder, a self-made entrepreneur. "Number two, we're trying to enhance the fans' experience . . . and after that, we'd like obviously to make this a good, successful, profitable long-term business venture.

"We hope that the first two ingredients produce the third result, and we think they will."

It is the love of the Redskins, not the love of money, that drives Snyder. He grew up in suburban Bethesda, Md., and was 7 when he attended his first Redskins game with his father. Through the years, his adoration for the team grew to maniacal proportions.

When he was overseas in his younger years, Snyder would call home and have someone put the telephone next to the radio or television so he could listen to games. Back in the United States, no business deal was more important than the Redskins on fall Sundays. No matter what was going on, Snyder and his associates would find a television to watch Washington play.

"He's a guy who cannot sit still, a guy who can't wait for the game to start, a guy who is engaged and involved in the game," Swanson said. "His parents and friends will tell you he's been like that all his life. When the Redskins are on, sit down, shut up, be quiet, the game's on. So he's actively involved. He cares."

The caring has manifested itself in different ways, including an unconventional foray into the free-agent market. Including signing bonuses, Snyder has spent an estimated $100-million to sign draft picks and high-priced free agents such as cornerback Deion Sanders, defensive end Bruce Smith and safety Mark Carrier. The acquisitions have made Washington the Bucs' chief rival for the NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXV at Raymond James Stadium.

Depending on whom you ask, Snyder has simply taken an aggressive approach to winning a championship, or he's wrecked the salary cap future of the team by spending an unprecedented $47-million in signing bonuses. Sanders received an $8-million bonus when he signed, and the bonuses for the two first-round picks, LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels, totaled more than $20-million.

Critics call him a fantasy football player in the real world of the NFL, a guy trying to buy the Super Bowl.

"If buying the Super Bowl is a negative, I disagree," Swanson said. "If you're competitive and you do what you need to do to put the best people on the field, absolutely that's been done here and wholeheartedly, with the pure cooperation of every coach and player in the building."

It's been more than just opening the wallet, however. Snyder has displayed a fierce loyalty to the players. His pursuit of Sanders could have soured longtime Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, who publicly expressed a reluctance to give up his starting position. But Snyder signed the 40-year-old Green to a contract extension before signing Sanders.

Then he took Sanders and Green to dinner. Suddenly, Green was publicly endorsing Snyder and the signing of Sanders.

Bruce Smith, the longtime Buffalo Bill, also sings Snyder's praises. When his father became ill shortly after Smith signed with the Redskins, Snyder assisted in every way possible.

"He's young, he's energetic. I love his character, his charismatic personality, so to speak," Smith said. "So far, I only have positive things about him to say. When I was going through the ordeal with my father, that really touched me deeply. Especially him not knowing me from Adam other than knowing about my football career."

Said Carrier: "Having a guy like Mr. Snyder with a winning attitude . . . it kind of filters down through everybody. The players want to be here for that same reason."

Other employees don't share that same zeal. Swanson said many of the 70 or so employees who left received a handsome severance as part of Snyder's purchase agreement. He described it as an opportunity to retire early, yet the explanation does not wipe away the vision of a longtime secretary seen crying at Redskins Park after being told the team wanted her to leave.

Redskins general manager Charley Casserly was summarily dismissed, even though it was his savvy that helped Washington acquire many of the players on the roster. Snyder said Casserly and Turner were not getting along, and one of them had to move on.

Turner said he and Snyder have a high level of communication, and it was audibly high after Dallas completed a sweep of the Redskins last year with a 38-20 win. Snyder blitzed Turner for nearly 15 minutes, delaying his press conference.

After the season, the defensive coaching staff also was replaced. Four vice presidents Snyder hired when he bought the team have left. The team is on its third public relations director in two years.

A reporter looks bewildered when Swanson tells him it's easy to work for Snyder.

"I didn't say he wasn't demanding," Swanson said. "He sets goals and what he asks people is, "Can you deliver that?' You can either say yes or you can say no, or you can say, "I can deliver this part of that.' All he wants is that you deliver the part you said you would.

"You work real hard, but you know he's working as hard as you are. He's not some guy sitting off in an office somewhere or out on a golf course. He'll give you all the authority and responsibility you want, as long as you're willing to accept the accountability that comes with that. It's real easy to work for people like that."

Snyder, who says he will never review film with coaches or interject his opinion on the sidelines during games, contends some of the negatives stem from being so heavily scrutinized by the media. But that's not likely to change, especially when you consider the size of the FedEx Field press box has been reduced to build more luxury suites.

The Washington Times has been one of the harshest critics, writing that Snyder is a man without class and referring to him as "Scalping Snyder.". Now comes word that the Washington Post received six game credentials while the smaller Times received just two. "I think it's chicken (poop) what's Snyder's doing," Washington Times editor Wes Pruden said. "Everybody with the Redskins is afraid to blow their nose until Snyder sneezes.

"The problem is, Snyder got rich before he grew up. He still needs to grow up."

Snyder has heard all the criticism and the rumors of his mistreatment of employees, but he contends he's just a fan trying to help his team win. If the Redskins do reach the pinnacle, many of his early deeds -- or misdeeds, depending on your perspective -- will be forgotten by the ardent supporters.

"This is normal business," Snyder said. "We have always gone at our competitors. We march forward every day and just sort of do it. We are going to be aggressive, we are going to spend money. And sometimes you have to get used to the heat that comes when you are doing things a little different."

- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this story.

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