The Washington Commanders won't be changing their name (again) anytime soon. The team's stadium will have a new identity for the start of the 2024 NFL season, however, with the Commanders announcing they have reached an exclusive naming-rights agreement with Northwest Federal Credit Union.
The deal means Washington's venue, which for 25 years had been known as FedExField, will instead be called Northwest Stadium moving forward. The Commanders will play their first game in the newly branded stadium on Sept. 15 against the rival New York Giants, and the agreement runs for eight years, per ESPN.
While the contract runs through 2032, it "does not include options on any [potential] new stadium," per ESPN, which team brass has publicly contemplated in recent years.
"As we continue to work toward our goal of building the Commanders into an elite franchise that consistently competes for championships," team owner Josh Harris said, via NBC Washington, "we are excited to welcome our team and fans to Northwest Stadium and look forward to creating incredible memories together on the field and in the communities we serve."
FedEx, the multinational shipping corporation, exited its naming-rights contract with the team in February, two years ahead of schedule. That deal was scheduled to run for nearly 30 years at a total of $205 million, as Washingtonian reported, and originally turned the venue into FedExField starting in 1999. Prior to that, the stadium was briefly known as Redskins Stadium, and also Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (1997-1999), in honor of the previous team owner who had the complex constructed.
