Trump Threatens Washington Commanders Stadium Deal If Name Isn't Changed

WASHINGTON, DC — Three months after Washington Commanders team owners and District of Columbia officials announced plans to build a covered stadium in D.C., President Donald Trump has weighed in with a threat to hold up the deal if the team does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans.

The Washington Commanders has had its current name since the 2022 season, and team officials said they have no plans to change the name back, the Associated Press said.

After playing in Landover, Maryland since 1997, Washington’s NFL franchise on April 28 unveiled plans to return to the nation’s capital as part of an agreement between the organization and the District of Columbia government to build on the site of the old RFK Stadium.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said the District of Columbia and the Commanders reached an agreement to construct a new 65,000 seat home for the football team in the city at the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. The project totaling nearly $4 billion needs D.C. City Council approval.

Trump said Sunday the Washington football team would be “much more valuable” if it restored its old name.

“I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington," Trump said on his social media site.

Related:

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The Washington Post first reported the design includes a roof over the stadium, which would enable the NFL to consider D.C. as a site to host a Super Bowl. The league rarely awards Super Bowls to cold-weather cities unless the stadium has a roof, the newspaper said.

Trump's latest interest in changing the name reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice. The team announced it would drop the Redskins name and the Indian head logo in 2020 during a broader reckoning with systemic racism and police brutality.

The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades.

The new stadium would open in 2030, with groundbreaking expected next year, pending approval of the Council of the District of Columbia.

When the stadium deal was announced, Trump posted on social media that “the new Stadium Deal is a HUGE WIN for Washington, D.C.” and the fanbase.

The Commanders are contributing $2.7 billion, with the city investing roughly $1.1 billion through 2032 for the stadium, housing, green space and a sportsplex on 170 acres of land bordering the Anacostia River. The stadium will take up just 16 of those acres.

Trump's ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January that transferred the land from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The provision was part of a short-term spending bill passed by Congress in December. While D.C. residents elect a mayor, a city council and commissioners to run day-to-day operations, Congress maintains control of the city’s budget.

Josh Harris, whose group bought the Commanders from former owner Dan Snyder in 2023, said earlier this year the name was here to stay. Not long after taking over, Harris quieted speculation about going back to Redskins, saying that would not happen. The team did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment following Trump's statement.

The Washington team started in Boston as the Redskins in 1933 before moving to the nation’s capital four years later.

The Commanders’ lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover runs through 2027.

A group led by Josh Harris bought the team last year for $6.05 billion.

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The Associated Press contributed reporting.