After a fantastic season, Dan Snyder’s former football team, the Commanders, are a hot commodity. His former house? Not so much. The 13.5-acre estate in Potomac can’t seem to find a buyer. Here’s a look at the property’s history.
July 2, 2001
Two years after buying the football team, Snyder purchases a property at 11900 River Road from Jordan’s King Hussein and Queen Noor (who was born and raised in this area). According to Maryland property records, Snyder pays $8,640,000.
After buying six adjacent parcels, Snyder builds a 25,119-square-foot French-chateau-inspired mansion on the site. The house, which overlooks the Potomac River, has five bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a staff house, and a conservatory.
Snyder lists the estate for $49 million with TTR Sotheby’s. “This home is lavishly regal, thanks to its chateau design and limestone exterior,” gushes Realtor.com. “The astonishing property” is “nearly unmatched in its magnificence.”
Snyder sells the Commanders for $6.05 billion–the highest amount ever paid for a sports franchise in North America. His house isn’t so fortunate: It remains listed at the same price with no takers.
Rather than reducing it further, Snyder donates the mansion to the American Cancer Society. He gets a nice tax write-off, while the charity now has to try to unload the thing. The property is pulled off the market less than two weeks later.
A Timeline of Dan Snyder’s Unsold Mansion
The Potomac estate can’t seem to find a buyer.
Contents
After a fantastic season, Dan Snyder’s former football team, the Commanders, are a hot commodity. His former house? Not so much. The 13.5-acre estate in Potomac can’t seem to find a buyer. Here’s a look at the property’s history.
July 2, 2001
Two years after buying the football team, Snyder purchases a property at 11900 River Road from Jordan’s King Hussein and Queen Noor (who was born and raised in this area). According to Maryland property records, Snyder pays $8,640,000.
2004
After buying six adjacent parcels, Snyder builds a 25,119-square-foot French-chateau-inspired mansion on the site. The house, which overlooks the Potomac River, has five bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a staff house, and a conservatory.
February 6, 2023
Snyder lists the estate for $49 million with TTR Sotheby’s. “This home is lavishly regal, thanks to its chateau design and limestone exterior,” gushes Realtor.com. “The astonishing property” is “nearly unmatched in its magnificence.”
July 20, 2023
Snyder sells the Commanders for $6.05 billion–the highest amount ever paid for a sports franchise in North America. His house isn’t so fortunate: It remains listed at the same price with no takers.
August 10, 2023
The market appears to have spoken: Snyder knocks $14.1 million off the price, bringing it down to $34.9 million. That doesn’t help.
March 7, 2024
Rather than reducing it further, Snyder donates the mansion to the American Cancer Society. He gets a nice tax write-off, while the charity now has to try to unload the thing. The property is pulled off the market less than two weeks later.
May 9, 2024
The American Cancer Society lists the house again, now with Compass. The asking price remains $34.9 million–with the same lack of results.
September 23, 2024
Could it still be overpriced? Another $5 million gets knocked off, bringing it down to $29.9 million.
February 2025
Snyder’s former estate remains available. Looking to luxuriate in the onetime digs of DC’s worst sports-team owner? Make an offer!
This article appears in the April 2025 issue of Washingtonian.
Longreads
Does Eleanor Holmes Norton Still Have What It Takes to Fight for DC?
Why PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk Is Still Getting in Our Faces
Human Decomposition Has Been a Mystery–Until Now
Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s Way Through
Related
An Unusual DC Novel Turns Out to Have an Interesting Explanation
Jim Acosta Talks About Life After CNN
Alexandria Construction Uncovers Part of a Historic Canal
The Cherry Blossoms Aren’t DC’s Only Interesting Trees