More Praise For the Burgundy & Gold!

[Steve Spurrier III]

HE raised ticket prices for two reasons, first to support his spending, and second, because he can.

If we assume that Snyder operates the Redskins in a rational (profit-maximizing) manner, then the first part of your statement is incorrect.

Snyder wants to get as much money out of FedEx Field as he possibly can. To make it easy, let's just assume that the Redskins charge $100 for all 90,000 seats (grossing $9,000,000 per game). If Snyder lowers ticket prices to $90, he still sells out but only grosses $8,100,000 per game, and if he raises ticket prices to $110, only 80,000 seats are sold and he grosses $8,800,000. Being the shrewd businessman that he is, Snyder keeps his tickets at the profit-maximizing price of $100. (And remember, what Snyder nets will be close to his gross. The marginal cost of selling one extra ticket is practically nothing.)

But then Snyder goes out and signs a bunch of high-priced free agents and coaches. Can he raise ticket prices to finance these signings? No, because if he does he will actually lose money. He is already at the profit-maximizing level.

But isn't it true that the free agent signings will make the team better and thus raise demand for a Redskins ticket? Of course - although winning will have a much greater and longer-lasting effect. But that is different than saying that Snyder raises ticket prices to finance his spending - rather, it explains why a businessman like Snyder would choose to pour money into his $800 million investment. Snyder may be a Redskins fan at heart, but his head is all entrepreneur.

I think he could make more money by not spending millions for free agents & the leagues highest paid coaching staff because he could still sell every seat in the stadium & get the same TV revenues from the league.

It's true that he could run his franchise like the Cardinals and still turn a profit, but he wouldn't be making more money (2003 NFL Franchise Revenues) and his franchise certainly wouldn't be worth nearly as much (NFL Franchise Values). Both of those links are a few years old, but if anything, the gap has only gotten bigger. Make no mistake, Snyder is doing what's best for Synder (and as far as I'm concerned, more power to him).

[TincoSkin]

SSIII: wrong. one reason, the redskins will always sell out. always.. thats why we are the best team in the world.. the fans. it will always sell out (even if prices go through the roof, the people from the dc metro area are damn wealthy and will always get tix)

[TincoSkin]

though you are right, he is a business man first

your argument is a tad flawed though

[Steve Spurrier III]

SSIII: wrong. one reason, the redskins will always sell out. always.. thats why we are the best team in the world.. the fans. it will always sell out (even if prices go through the roof, the people from the dc metro area are damn wealthy and will always get tix)

The fact that the Washington fan base is so wealthy and loyal is the reason the Redskins have the highest ticket prices in the league despite a poor stadium experience and a 44-52 record over the last six seasons.

But if you think there is no limit, you're wrong. There is always a limit. Now, maybe we haven't reached that point, and Synder is trying to find it, but it's there. Maybe it's $150, $250, $2000 - whatver. There is a profit-maximizing ticket, and that's what Snyder will/is charging.

[TincoSkin]

true but i think he is still well with in reality with the prices.. i only see them going higher for the reason you just stated, our fans and the money they have.. i think we are in agreement here.. i may have been overzelous with my original post.. in the end he is a business man first and the number one indicator is that he hired the old coach that everyone in town loves and will shell out their hard earned dollars to see, not to mention the new highlight reel wideouts..

[yupchagee]

The skins have been selling out as long as I can remember, through good seasons & bad. Look at my signature, I've been through A LOT of losing seasons. Without all the high priced aquisitions (players & coaches). He would still sell every available ticket. Just look at the waiting list. He cares about winning. He doesn't care about middle class fans getting squeezed out of seats.

[JonC56]

HE raised ticket prices for two reasons, first to support his spending, and second, because he can.

If we assume that Snyder operates the Redskins in a rational (profit-maximizing) manner, then the first part of your statement is incorrect.

Snyder wants to get as much money out of FedEx Field as he possibly can. To make it easy, let's just assume that the Redskins charge $100 for all 90,000 seats (grossing $9,000,000 per game). If Snyder lowers ticket prices to $90, he still sells out but only grosses $8,100,000 per game, and if he raises ticket prices to $110, only 80,000 seats are sold and he grosses $8,800,000. Being the shrewd businessman that he is, Snyder keeps his tickets at the profit-maximizing price of $100. (And remember, what Snyder nets will be close to his gross. The marginal cost of selling one extra ticket is practically nothing.)

But then Snyder goes out and signs a bunch of high-priced free agents and coaches. Can he raise ticket prices to finance these signings? No, because if he does he will actually lose money. He is already at the profit-maximizing level.

But isn't it true that the free agent signings will make the team better and thus raise demand for a Redskins ticket? Of course - although winning will have a much greater and longer-lasting effect. But that is different than saying that Snyder raises ticket prices to finance his spending - rather, it explains why a businessman like Snyder would choose to pour money into his $800 million investment. Snyder may be a Redskins fan at heart, but his head is all entrepreneur.

I think he could make more money by not spending millions for free agents & the leagues highest paid coaching staff because he could still sell every seat in the stadium & get the same TV revenues from the league.

It's true that he could run his franchise like the Cardinals and still turn a profit, but he wouldn't be making more money (2003 NFL Franchise Revenues) and his franchise certainly wouldn't be worth nearly as much (NFL Franchise Values). Both of those links are a few years old, but if anything, the gap has only gotten bigger. Make no mistake, Snyder is doing what's best for Synder (and as far as I'm concerned, more power to him).

The Redskins are going to sell out next year even if he raised ticket prices 50 dollars a ticket. Your theory of losing 10000 tickets sold for every 10 dollars you increase ticket prices is cute, but not realistic. He raised ticket prices and parking to increase his profit(what he thinks the washington DC economy can support) which in turn supports the millions he invests each year into trying to make the redskins successful on the field.

Also where did the number 100 come from. My seats went from 79 to 109. I gurantee you that average cost of a ticket in fed ex is well over 100, considering the lower bowl and club are all well over a 100 dollars a seat.

[Steve Spurrier III]

Your theory of losing 10000 tickets sold for every 10 dollars you increase ticket prices is cute, but not realistic.

What's cute is how you completley missed the point. Those numbers were exaggerated to demonstrate my point, not actual predictions or estimations.

He raised ticket prices and parking to increase his profit(what he thinks the washington DC economy can support) which in turn supports the millions he invests each year into trying to make the redskins successful on the field.

Right. But that is completley different than raising prices in order to support spending. A rational owner would raise those prices regardless - that Snyder chooses to spend some of the money on players and coaches is independent.

Also where did the number 100 come from. My seats went from 79 to 109. I gurantee you that average cost of a ticket in fed ex is well over 100, considering the lower bowl and club are all well over a 100 dollars a seat.

Again, those numbers were fabricated just to illustrate the point. But if I had used the real numbers, nothing would have changed.

[1niksder]

"the Danny" has used team revenue to bring in the players that he does he just uses the money different than other owners. Because of the money he makes he can pay the big signing bonuses (money spent up front) and smaller base salaries while other teams pay smaller signing bonuses but draw players to their team with high base salaries (money that will draw interest for the owner until the weekly paycheck is cut). The Redskins aren't the only team that operates like this but seems to do it on a more news-worthy level.

Ticket price go up almost every year for every team even if teams aren't selling out. I still don't understand it but last year the Jags raised ticket prices then turned around and covers about 5K seats to avoid blackout.

"the Danny" has been less visible lately but I doubt his business practices have changed, so you'd have to give most of the recent success to Gibbs and his grew, who by the way are getting paid better than ANY staff in the NFL.

http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2006/05/daniel-snyder-cowboys260506.html

"Now that Gibbs has returned, the Redskins are knocking on the door of another Super Bowl title."

"Perhaps most importantly, Gibbs' Redskins defeated the Cowboys twice last season by a combined score of 49-20."

"The bottom line is, the NFL is nothing if not a business, and Snyder, the ultimate businessman, has brought a win-first, big-money mentality to Washington. It may not be politically correct among the average football fan, but it's starting to prove effective for the Redskins. After all, the most important thing in today's league is to put a solid, watchable product on the field for the fans, and Snyder's done just that. Who wouldn't want to go watch the likes of Clinton Portis and Randle El every week? If I were a Redskin fan I certainly would; now pass me the nachos and beer."

Like the article says the skins are a solid, watchable product the fans. For us they have always been watchable but now fans from other team will watch and enjoy the skins. The article also says this is something that "the Danny" has done. I think this is something that "the Danny" has wanted all along and money has never been a issues, but again he couldn't do it until Joe got here.

[DeathByLinebacker#56]

Snyder, love him or hate him he truly loves the Skins. That is hard to fault.

[Redskin in Canada]

Snyder, love him or hate him he truly loves the Skins. That is hard to fault.

I agree. I have never doubted his love for the team. As a fan, he is a good one.

As an owner before Gibbs though... I digress. Forget this thought.

[yupchagee]

This what I've been trying to say here. Snyder is a lefelong Skins fan & wants to win at all costs. He made some bad decisions, but his motivation has always been winning.