For many years, it was difficult to single out the worst owner in the NFL. Despite being educated at prestigious Georgetown University, William Bidwill of the St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals always was No. 1 on the list, ranging from his penurious ways to his team's perpetual last-place finishes to his Mr. Magoo persona.

An appearance in the franchise's first Super Bowl a year ago at least pushed Mr. B a few notches down the list. Even before some stunning recent exposes in The Washington Post over the Washington Redskins' outrageous ticket policies and litigious ways, including suing his own fans when they didn't pay for club seats on time, team owner Daniel Snyder was rocketing up the charts. Now, he's the clear leader as the worst occupant of this chummy billionaire's clubhouse.

Sadly, Snyder has some company in an era when a growing list of NFL owners seem to have forgotten what got their game to the top of the popularity heap in any sport, team or otherwise, in America. Plainly put, some of them have started to take their fans for granted (pay attention Mr. Ross), and proof positive might well have been commissioner Roger Goodell's estimation two weeks ago that 20 percent of the league's games could be blacked out in a team's home television market because they will not be sold out 72 hours before kickoff.

That's a staggering number of blacked out games, more than any I can ever recall, and perhaps it will serve as a slap in the face for some owners who have been gouging their patrons more than ever in recent years, ranging from the New York Giants charging $20,000 for personal seat licenses for the right to then buy season tickets at their new stadium next season, to more petty graft, like $8 hotdogs and $12 beers at so many facilities across the country.

Sadly, there is no shortage of contenders for the dubious distinction of worst owner in the league, starting right at the bottom with the famously fumbling Ford Family in Detroit. This is a team that's now riding an 18-game losing streak, including 0-16 a year ago, hasn't had a winning season since 2000 and has never even sniffed a Super Bowl, other than to host the game in 2006.

LEMONS AS OWNERS

The Fords have never had a better idea when it came to the Lions, and judging from all their recent losses in the car business, probably should have stayed singularly focused primarily on auto-making. Then again, this is the same family that foisted the Edsel on the American public, the assembly line equivalent of putting Matt Millen in charge of all things football, and never cutting their losses until it was far too late.

There also should be plenty of support for Al Davis, a Hall of Famer in his heyday as a major force in the merger of the old American Football League with the NFL. But he also has been a bumbling (and occasional babbling) meddler over the past decade, with a team that has gone the last six seasons with 11 or more losses (a league record) since its last appearance in the Super Bowl after the 2002 season. Davis's head coaching decisions also have been mostly disastrous in recent years, from the firing of Mike Shanahan to the hiring of Bill Callahan, Lane Kiffin and now, Slugger Tom Cable, who punched out one of his assistants, perhaps the best hit the Raiders have had in several years.

Also in the running would be New Orleans owner Tom Benson, who was making noises about moving the franchise not long after his home turf was still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina; Denise DeBartolo York, sister of banished Eddie D. and the wife of John York, whom she allowed to run the club (badly) since her popular brother got involved with some unsavory gambling types and was forced to leave the NFL stage in 2000, ceding control of the team to Denise.

The 49ers also have had six consecutive losing seasons under three nondescript coaches, and could be headed for a seventh in a row this year.

THEN THERE'S SNYDER

Still, no one should be more outraged at their treatment by a home team owner than Redskins fans at the hands of Snyder, who has presided over a franchise that hasn't come close to sniffing a Super Bowl since he arrived in 1999 to begin his reign of error. Five head coaches in 10 years, a general manager (Vinny Cerrato) who would have a hard time keeping a head scouting job with some franchises and big bucks for aging superstars who take the money and run are just a few of his countless transgressions.

But the latest revelations about the team essentially shafting all those folks on the season-ticket waiting list by bundling some of those seats to scalping ticket brokers and the club's decision to file lawsuits against patrons rocked by the recession and unable to pay their bills seems to have provided a major tipping point in fan outrage toward an owner whose team is now valued at $1.45 billion, twice what he paid for it in 1999.

Snyder has taken advantage of his fan base for years with outrageous prices, screaming boobs on the public address system, surly parking attendants and in-stadium ushers and clearly one of the worst fan ``experiences'' in the league for anyone who braves the maddening traffic to get there. And so, there you have it, finally a first for the proud old Washington franchise. Congratulations Daniel Snyder, now the worst owner in the NFL.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@