If there’s anyone who is plugged in to the business side of football and the on-field side equally, it’s probably Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio – and as we found out that Josh Harris doesn’t plan to change the name Commanders any time soon, Florio remembered an old conversation in a similar vein about branding a few years back that applies now.
“As the Commanders were progressing toward the postseason and beginning to have success, I remember a discussion Chris Simms and I had three years ago, because he hates the Bengals' uniforms, but he said when they were winning in 2021 that nothing makes a bad uniform look better than winning,” Florio told Grant Paulsen on Media Row this week. “Well, nothing makes a name that people aren't warming up to sound better than winning. All of a sudden there's a legacy and a future that's attached to that name that transforms it into something larger than what it was, and it makes that connection to the DNA of the fan base. Now it’s just Commanders all the way, and this doesn't surprise me at all. Commanders is unequivocally clear as the name, and they've got an immediate future – and really, for as long as Jayden Daniels is healthy and playing like he played last year, they've got a future that's going to be very bright.”
And as it does, the more Commanders gear you’re going to see, like we already have over the last 12 months.
“It’s only going to get more popular, because they're going to be a team that is talked about throughout the offseason and will be one of the trendy picks to maybe get to the Super Bowl next year,” Florio said. “So I think that it's just going to continue, and they see where it's going; last year was let's just wait and see, and they waited and saw and realized that the name is putting down roots. That's what it's all about, is putting down roots, into the minds and the wallets of the fans. So why would you even consider changing it?”
But, if a rebrand isn’t coming and Commanders it is, could a happy medium be making some changes to the uniform, even if only for a game or two as a special attraction?
“The league has to approve everything that you do, and at a minimum it's one year in advance. There should be a greater sensitivity to the fact that you have fans who go out and spend money on the current uniform, and then they get the rug pulled out from under them with a new uniform,” Florio said. “When I know a team is going to change its uniform and it's out there, I make sure I remind fans from time to time, don't go by that jersey unless you want to have a memento or a souvenir, because new ones are coming. Fans who would start plunking down money for Commanders gear now would have every right to be upset if they pull the rug out from under them and change the name later, so I think it's all part of this broader process of when is the right time to do it, and when is the league going to approve it? I could see some changes coming, but I don’t know what that means – but the uniform looks better than it used to, and it takes on a better vibe when the guys wearing it are winning games.”
And, of course, whatever the name and uniform is, we know a new stadium is coming at some point soon, so what is Florio thinking after hearing Harris say he’s talking to both DC and Maryland?
“The one thing that we have to remember, because this bubbled up when Elon Musk decided to chime in on the RFK bill and said no taxpayer money should be devoted to this, and the blowback was there is no taxpayer money in the bill that would give DC the ability for 99 years to basically do what it wants with that land, that the reality is they're not putting a shovel in the ground unless the NFL has some public body that is paying a crap load of money. They won't allow it or approve it,” Florio said. There are very rare circumstances where you know going in, like when Stan Kroenke wanted to go to LA and said I'll pay for it all myself, that an owner will do it – a very small percentage of owners want to own and operate their own stadium. Most teams want public money as a subsidy for the building of the stadium, and it's a broad business transaction. You got DC, you got Maryland, I think they'd like to get Virginia to the table, and they're not going to move. It's a matter of leveraging one location against the other to get the best possible deal, and there might not be a single taxpayer dollar that's ever devoted to the DC effort, but the possibility of them choosing DC and maybe privately financing it gets you a better deal to stay in Maryland, where they will give you taxpayer money. So there will be taxpayer money devoted to this; they are not going to pay for the stadium by themselves, it’s just a question of how much.”
And to Florio, of course, “winning and having a great team and having a bright future is a way to get people to say, sure, let's give them public money for this.”
Listen to Grant & Florio’s entire conversation about the business side of the Commanders’ future!