Front Office

It was 1994 when Alex Spanos appointed his son, Dean, to be President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Chargers. 

And it was 1994 that turned out to be the most successful and most memorable season in Chargers history as the team took San Diego for a wild ride all the way to Super Bowl XXIX. 

Under Dean’s leadership, the Chargers have reclaimed the mantle as one of the elite teams in the NFL. The past five seasons have seen the Chargers win four AFC West titles and 57 games, including three playoff games, while enjoying 39 consecutive regular season and postseason sellouts at Qualcomm Stadium. Only three teams have won more games over that span. 
 
Spanos has overseen the effort and provided the resources to build and maintain one of the league’s most talented rosters, including the signing of a new contract for future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Continuity on a roster that includes 14 players who have earned Pro Bowl berths points to continued success for the team. 

Dean has spearheaded the effort to make Chargers games the most enjoyable in the NFL, acknowledged in 2006 when the Chargers were named the League’s most fan-friendly team by FansVoice.com. 

Spanos’ personal relationship with San Diego has played a key role in the team’s success. Dean and the Spanos family are recognized as one of pro football’s most philanthropic families and one of Southern California’s most active and caring contributors. His unending financial and emotional support of youth sports and education is unmatched in San Diego. 

Spanos’ commitment to San Diego and the team is clear. He has dedicated years of hard work and millions of dollars to develop a plan to give San Diegans a modern football-only stadium and secure a long-term home for their football team. His leadership of the team and passion for San Diego is undeniable. The reason for this heartfelt bond is clear: Dean has proudly called San Diego home since the day he moved his family to the area in 1984.  

DUAL PRESIDENCIES

When his father purchased majority interest in the team on August 1, 1984, Dean became the man behind the scenes for the Chargers while also serving as president of all Spanos corporate entities. Dean now serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chargers, overseeing all business and football operations, while also serving on the NFL’s Business Ventures, International, Legislative and Management Council Executive Committees. 

Dean has been working in the family-owned apartment construction and land development business for 36 years. He shares the responsibility with his brother, Michael, for all construction operations nationwide and all financial matters relating to the acquisition and development of projects for the Spanos organization.    CONTINUES TRADITION OF GIVING

In addition to running the football organization, Dean has continued the long-standing tradition of community service and support made famous by the Spanos family and the Chargers. 

“My family and I are proud to be a part of the San Diego community,” said Spanos. “I’m very fortunate to be in a position to help the people who have been so supportive of the Chargers over the years.”   In March 2000, he announced the creation of Chargers Champions, an education and fitness initiative of the Chargers Community Foundation benefiting San Diego County students and schools. Since its inception, 175 outstanding high school juniors have been selected for their outstanding leadership and awarded tuition scholarships and laptop computers. Chargers Champions also makes a strong commitment to improving the health of the County’s children by providing grants up to $75,000 for physical fitness improvements on school campuses.   This commitment of scholarships and grants totals nearly $4 million over the past 10 years. 

To date, Spanos’ brainchild has provided funding for more than 50 health and fitness projects in local schools, including 15 weight rooms/fitness centers, eight outdoor playing fields/tracks, 14 fitness trails and a myriad of other projects and programs dedicated to improving the health of San Diego’s kids. 

Local student athletes received a giant boost in 2000 when the Spanos family and Chargers Community Foundation supplied the initial funding to organize the first-ever freshman football and girls volleyball programs in the 16 San Diego City high schools. This major public-private partnership created more than 1,000 extracurricular opportunities for students.

Youth football in San Diego also has known no greater champion than Spanos and the Chargers. Spanos’ financial support made possible the creation of a new Challenger Division for San Diego’s Palomar Pop Warner League. This devotion to youth football led the national organization of Pop Warner to name the Chargers the 2007 Pop Warner NFL Team of the Year. 

And the Chargers Community Foundation has helped local deserving organizations over the past 14 years to the tune of $8.5 million, not counting the many personal contributions by the Spanos family. 

In 2007, when wildfires ravaged San Diego County for the second time in five years, Spanos jumped to the forefront with the single largest personal donation — $1 million — to aid affected families and the recovery effort. He made an identical $1 million contribution immediately following the wildfires that hit the community in 2003. Spanos and the team also collected additional funds for the San Diego Chargers Fire Relief Fund, adding another $500,000 to the total in 2003.   Dean also is a strong supporter of San Diego’s Police, Fire and Sheriff’s departments, providing more than $600,000 in grants and direct assistance in just the last few years. Thanks to Dean’s generosity, Critical Communications Centers have been upgraded and new horse patrol trailers and mobile command units for the Police department have been purchased. Wildfire fighting gear has been purchased as has other fire-fighting equipment for local agencies. In response to an increase in child abduction cases, Dean hosted and paid for critical law enforcement training classes for the Sheriff’s department. 

Dean continues to be a major force in the San Diego business and civic communities. He is a major contributor to Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego’s High School Sports Association, the San Diego Blood Bank, STAR/PAL, Huntington’s Disease Society of America, San Diego State University Campanile Foundation, University of San Diego and the San Diego Police Foundation.  

A huge economic benefit to the community came in 1998 when Dean and Alex Spanos secured Super Bowl XXXII for the City of San Diego. It marked the second time in five years that the City of San Diego enjoyed the huge financial windfall from hosting a Super Bowl. Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003 brought more than $300 million to the San Diego economy.    COMMUNITY HONORS  Community honors come frequently to Dean and his wife, Susie.   Dean was honored in 2006 with an appointment by President George W. Bush to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“I am honored that President Bush has entrusted this position to me,” Spanos said at the time. “I look forward to playing a role in supporting the nation’s most prestigious arts center.”

Dean had the unique distinction of being a second-generation recipient of the renowned Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2002, 16 years after his father was similarly honored. He was also inducted into the DeMolay International Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002. DeMolay International is an organization dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful and productive lives.    In 2007, the local Salvation Army named Dean and Susie as their Most Valuable Philanthropists. In 2006, Dean was the honored recipient of the Golden Achievement Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Diego. This recognition was given for his contributions to the Boys & Girls Clubs as well as the San Diego community. Junior Achievement of San Diego also honored Dean that year for his community leadership and specifically for his support of youth education initiatives by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. 

The Warner Award, the top honor of the national Pop Warner football organization, was bestowed upon Dean for his commitment to youth football and its Little Scholars education initiative in 2005. The San Diego Chapter of the National Football Foundation also has presented Dean with its highest honor, the Distinguished American Award, and in ’04, the Police Historical Society presented him with their first Cota Award for community philanthropy and support of law enforcement. In 2001, the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum presented Dean and Susie with their Community Champions Award, the Hall’s most distinguished award. The couple also received the Harold Leventhal Community Service Award in 2003, the top award of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, presented by the national board for their generosity.

BUSINESSMAN AND FAMILY MAN

Dean Alexander Spanos was born in Stockton, California. He earned varsity letters in football and golf at Lincoln High School in Stockton. Dean received Lincoln High School’s Hall of Fame Award, which honors alumni whose contributions and accomplishments are representative of the school. He was recognized for his achievements in the areas of business and athletics. Dean continued his golfing career at the University of the Pacific in Stockton where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in business administration. He maintains close ties with his alma mater, having served as a regent at the University.  An avid golfer since his college years, Dean has been on the winning team in five Pro-Am tournaments, including back-to-back wins in 1990 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach with partner Hubert Green. He successfully defended his title at the Hope Classic in 1991. Spanos’ first win came with Green at the 1985 Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, where Dean was awarded the “Most Valuable Amateur” trophy for supplying the most help to his professional partner. Later that year, his second win came in the 1985 Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am in Dallas, where he teamed with Billy Casper.  

Susie received one of San Diego’s most prestigious awards in 2001 when she was honored as a “Woman of Dedication” by the Salvation Army. She also has been named the Woman of the Year by the San Diego Leukemia Society for her philanthropic work in the community. Susie is active in and on the board of many charitable organizations in San Diego, including the Campanile Foundation at San Diego State University and the San Diego Women’s Foundation. She also is an advisory member of Las Patronas, one of San Diego’s leading non-profit organizations. Susie has been a driving force in supporting the San Diego Blood Bank and its umbilical cord blood program, helping the Chargers’ annual blood drive become one of the most successful in the nation.

Son Alexander Gus (A.G.) is the Chargers’ executive vice president-executive officer. Previously he spent five years as the team’s director of marketing programs and business development. A.G. is a graduate of the business school at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining the Chargers full-time in 2001, he worked in the NFL Europe office in London and at the NFL office in New York. As a freshman, A.G. attended Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where he was a member of the football team. In high school, he earned six varsity letters as a two-sport athlete (basketball and football) at La Jolla Country Day School.

Son John Dean is the team’s director of college scouting. Previously he was the assistant director after serving as a pro and college scout. John has worked in the organization — mostly in the football personnel department — for 13 years. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in business in 2002. He also interned one summer and later worked one year at the NFL Management Council’s office in New York. While at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, John earned nine varsity letters in a variety of sports – football, basketball and golf – and played on three championship teams.