NFL Owner's Playbook

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and his wife, Tanya, have listed their Bethesda, Md., house for $5.39 million. The Snyders bought the property for $1.94 million in 1995, according to public records, and have since spent nearly $2 million on renovations, according to the listing agent. The property, less than an acre and about eight miles outside Washington, has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and three half baths. The Snyders also own a Potomac, Md., house, which they bought in July 2001 for $8.6 million and which was previously owned by the late King Hussein of Jordan.

Mr. Snyder, at age 40 the youngest team owner in the National Football League, bought the Redskins in 1999 for $805 million and helped make the franchise one of the league's most profitable, with about $250 million in annual revenue. Mr. Snyder recently began a proxy contest to gain control of regional theme-park company Six Flags, through an investment concern he owns. Before taking over the Redskins he was chairman and chief executive of Snyder Communications, a marketing and advertising company, until its sale in 2000.

The Bethesda house has a two-story family room, four fireplaces and a 3,000-bottle wine cellar. The property also includes a heated pool, spa and three-car garage. Marsha Schuman of Coldwell Banker has the listing.

Discount at Dot-Com Estate

The family of late WebTV co-founder Phil Goldman reduced the asking price on his Palo Alto, Calif., estate by $10 million to $26 million. During the dot-com boom in 1997, Mr. Goldman sold WebTV -- which developed set-top boxes that allowed viewers to surf the Web on their television -- to Microsoft for $425 million. Mr. Goldman died of a heart attack at age 39 in December 2003 while the house was under construction. His family put it on the market four months after his death.

The house features a geothermal-energy system that heats and cools the building with the use of 28 wells more than 300 feet deep. The property comprises 3.4 acres in the Palo Alto hills and is surrounded by land protected from development. A main house has five bedrooms and six bathrooms and measures more than 14,000 square feet. The home, which took six years to complete, has a pool, a 14-seat theater and a 3,600-square-foot guest house. Ed Kahl, of Coldwell Banker in Woodside, Calif., has the listing.

Houseful of Talent

Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel, a partner at Endeavor agency, and his wife, Sarah, have purchased a Brentwood Park, Calif., house for nearly $10 million. Stuart Liner, a managing partner of law firm Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif, and his wife, Stephanie, had owned the property. Mr. Emanuel, whose company represents Ben Affleck and Matt Damon among others, is the model for Jeremy Piven's Ari Gold character in the HBO series "Entourage," the network says. The 7,000-square-foot home has seven bedrooms, nine baths, a sports court, a screening room and a gym. A pool and a 3,000-square-foot guest house are on the property, too. Judy Feder, of Nourmand & Associates, represented the buyers. The sellers were represented by Barbara Boyle of Sotheby's International Realty.

Animated Seller

A former executive of DreamWorks Television Animation, David Simon, sold his Beverly Hills house for close to its $5.59 million asking price. Brad Penenberg, a Beverly Hills surgeon, bought the Spanish-style estate. Built in 1929 and once owned by the actor Leslie Nielsen, it has seven bedrooms and bathrooms and measures 8,400 square feet. The property includes a library, pool and courtyard. Mr. Simon works as a board member and creative consultant for BFC Berliner Film Cie., which makes animated feature films. Mr. Simon and his wife, Linda, purchased a new home in Malibu. Doron Langer of Osman Realtors, Beverly Hills, had the listing.

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