Eric Schaffer, now entering his 17th season with the Redskins in 2019, currently serves as the franchise's Senior Vice President of Football Operations and General Counsel.
Schaffer was promoted to his current role as Senior Vice President of Football Operations on June 13, 2017, and now assumes a larger role in the leadership and oversight of the team's personnel department. He remains the club's chief contract negotiator and is responsible for the strategic planning, management and forecasting of the Redskins' salary cap and cash budgets. In addition, Schaffer oversees extensive research and analysis of NFL player contracts and evaluates the roster composition of each club throughout the NFL. He also serves as the Redskins' primary liaison to the NFL Management Council.
In addition to his role as Senior Vice President of Football Operations, Schaffer serves as the Redskins' General Counsel, advising the club on all legal matters and contributing significantly to the team's business operations. His areas of oversight include sponsorships, licensing, vendor and employment agreements (for football and non-football employees), human resources issues, team litigation, as well as workers' compensation, among various others.
Schaffer works closely with President Bruce Allen, Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams and the head coach along with the team's personnel staff to help shape the Redskins' roster. This offseason, Schaffer negotiated a long-term contract for Alex Smith that secured Smith's trade from Kansas City to provide the club with stability at quarterback. At the start of the NFL league year, he quickly signed up-and-coming receiver Paul Richardson Jr., veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick, and re-signed All-Pro linebacker Zach Brown.
The year before, Schaffer negotiated a contract extension for Morgan Moses, one of the game's top young right tackles. Moses' contract was yet another multi-year extension to which Schaffer has signed the team's young talent in recent years, including deals with perennial Pro Bowler Trent Williams, Ryan Kerrigan, Jordan Reed, Tress Way and others. Schaffer also led the charge on key free agency additions in 2017, including the acquisitions of Brown, safety D.J. Swearinger, and defensive lineman Stacy McGee.
Prior to the 2016 season, Schaffer and the Redskins mobilized quickly to recruit and sign All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman. The moves followed a 2015 season in which Schaffer and the Redskins adeptly added veteran leaders with winning pedigrees to a young roster that ultimately secured the NFC East title. He has adroitly navigated the salary cap each year, including helping the club overcome a $36 million cap penalty in 2012 en route to its first NFC East title since 1999.
In the 2011 offseason abbreviated by the NFL labor dispute, Schaffer helped the team secure several key players in a flurry of activity after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA. In 16 years (2003-18) with the Redskins, Schaffer has negotiated the contracts for every one of Washington's draft picks, including 24 first- and second-round picks.
Schaffer originally joined the Redskins in 2003 as the team's salary cap manager. He was promoted first to Director of Football Administration in 2005 and again to Vice President of Football Administration in 2007. He added the General Counsel role in 2012.
Prior to joining the Redskins, Schaffer spent 11 years with International Management Group (IMG) in various roles. He started as an intern for IMG's founder, the late Mark McCormack, and moved on to their motorsports division where he sold corporate sponsorships and managed young drivers. He eventually became the staff counsel for IMG Football, where he oversaw all legal issues related to 90 NFL clients and negotiated player contracts as an NFLPA registered agent.
Schaffer holds both a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he completed his studies while working full-time for IMG. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he is a member of the Ohio Bar Association as well as admitted in Virginia as Club Counsel. Schaffer currently resides in Ashburn, Va., with his wife, Jaymie, and three children, Cameron (12), Logan (10), and Bailey (7).
