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Case file s354 · Music and sport · 1997
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1997
Jack Kent Cooke: Jack Kent Cooke circa 1955 (cropped)
Jack Kent Cooke. Alexandra Studio. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
6 April 1997
Place
Washington, D.C. · United States
Field
NFL owner (Washington Redskins)
Legal tradition
US common law (Virginia, D.C.); charitable foundation law · Common law
Historical event
Three Super Bowl titles under Cooke (1983, 1988, 1992)
Music and sportGiven awayPostwarNorth AmericaUnited States

Jack Kent Cooke's will ordered the Redskins sold to fund his foundation, and his son was outbid by Daniel Snyder

Jack Kent Cooke left 90 percent of the Washington Redskins to the charitable foundation named after him. His will told the executors to sell the team at the highest possible price, while giving his son, team president John Kent Cooke, a chance to buy it. John Kent Cooke bid. Reports put his offer at about $680 million or $720 million. The executors chose a group led by Howard and Edward Milstein and Daniel Snyder. The decision was made by the executors of Cooke's estate, not by the family. In May 1999 the NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the team and its stadium for $800 million, then a record. Snyder put down $300 million. The sale closed on 13 July 1999. The foundation expected up to $500 million from the proceeds. It funds college scholarships in 2026, and John Kent Cooke sits on its board. Snyder sold the team in 2023 for a reported $6.05 billion†.

What the law took from it

A will that orders a sale at the highest price protects a charity but means a family member gets no discount.

Sources
  1. philanthropy.comPress
  2. Tampa Bay TimesPress
  3. sportsbusinessdaily.comPress
  4. washingtontimes.comPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Jack Kent Cooke's will ordered the Redskins sold to fund his foundation, and his son was outbid by Daniel Snyder,” story s354, https://www.celebrity.estate/jack-kent-cooke-1997, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Music and sportGiven awayPostwarNorth AmericaCommon lawUnited States