FedEx Ends Naming-Rights Deal with Washington Commanders
INDIANAPOLIS -- The main thing is the main thing, but it's not always the only thing, as we were reminded of Wednesday morning with news breaking that the Washington Commanders are going to need a new stadium sponsor this season.
Wednesday morning as defensive linemen and linebackers were going through medical checks and meeting the media during their week-long interview with teams like the Commanders, Washington Post reporters Nicki Jhabvala and Mark Maske shared that FedEx is terminating the naming-rights deal it signed with the franchise in 1999.
Washington Commanders fans cheer on their team at FedEx Field.
Geoff Burke, USA Today
"FedEx, the shipping giant that struck a $205 million deal in 1999 to have its name on the stadium of Washington’s NFL franchise, has ended its naming-rights agreement with the team two years early," the report says. "The agreement was set to expire in 2026."
1999 is the same year Dan Snyder purchased the Washington football team and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium for $800 million.
At the time, it was the richest sale of a team in history.
The deal with FedEx was originally set to expire in 2026, as the report says, but the shipping company decided to end it early using an opt-out clause that came into play following the sale of the team to a group managed by Josh Harris.
Harris' group purchased the team from Syder for $6.05 billion last offseason and will now lose out on around $15 million in revenue because of the action.
This comes one day after the Commanders announced further improvements to the stadium that are designed to make the fan experience an all-around better one starting from entering the parking lot to the stadium and throughout the games played at the soon-to-be renamed facility.
Some of the new developments will also include the creation of a tunnel club that will allow Washington fans to cheer on their favorite players as they enter the field at every home game.
These upgrades to the stadium put the new ownership group over $75 million dedicated toward improving fan experiences and show promise that the group is truly dedicated to returning Commanders football to the top of the league from every angle.
The stadium they do it in will soon have a new name, now, and perhaps a new partner in the future development of a new stadium coming in the next handful of years.
