FedEx opts out of NFL stadium deal
Commanders’ venue had carried name since 1999
FedEx ended its naming rights agreement to the Washington Commanders stadium in Landover, Maryland — a venue that had been known as FedEx Field since 1999.
The move confirmed Wednesday comes two years prior to the expiration of the current agreement, and as the NFL club under new ownership looks for a site on which to build a new stadium that would open later this decade.
“We continuously review our marketing programs to ensure our investments are aligned with our evolving business objectives,” FedEx said in an emailed statement. “As part of this review, we have decided to not continue as the naming rights sponsor of FedEx Field as we focus on our broader NFL sponsorship and opportunities that reflect our global footprint.”
Dan Snyder sold the naming rights to FedEx in 1999 when he bought the team. FedEx founder and chairman Fred Smith was a minority owner of the team until 2021, when Snyder and his family bought out the shares held by Smith, Dwight Schar and Bob Rothman.
Snyder last year sold the team for $6.05 billion to a group led by Josh Harris that includes Magic Johnson.
Don’t expect the Commanders’ stadium, which also hosts soccer games and concerts, to go without a sponsorship for an extended period of time.
“We have already started the process of identifying our next stadium naming rights partner — a partner who will play a crucial role in ushering in the next era of not only Commanders football but also a robust slate of top live events and concerts,” the team said in a statement.
The Washington Post was first to report the news.
On Tuesday, the Commanders announced $75 million in renovations to the aging stadium. There was no hot water in the home and visiting locker room showers after a game late last season, and in previous years the stadium had pipe leaks and other problems that made it a butt of league-wide jokes.
The Commanders ranked last among the league’s 32 teams on the NFLPA’s latest annual report card released Wednesday, including complaints about the locker room and team’s outdated training facility in Ashburn.
The union said players had “issues issues with cleanliness, citing multiple sewage leaks this season” and were unhappy about the lack of a family room and daycare facilities on game days.
Harris received a rating of 8.6 out of 10 from Commanders players for his willingness to invest in facilities.
Upon taking control of the team, Harris talked about improving how fans get in and out, among other changes to the game day experience that had devolved in the final years of Snyder’s ownership.
His group is still considering options in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia for the team’s new home. The current one was rushed to completion in 1997 under the orders of then-owner Jack Kent Cooke, who died months prior to its opening.