FedEx, the shipping giant that inked a $205 million deal in 1999 to place its name on the stadium of Washington's NFL franchise, ended its naming rights agreement with the team two years early. The agreement was due to expire in 2026.
The move leaves the Commanders missing out on about $15 million of remaining revenue from the deal and leaving them without a naming rights partner for their Landover Stadium while they look for a new home in D.C., Maryland or Virginia.
FedEx's separate partnership with the team remains in place, as does the company's long-standing sponsorship deal with the NFL.
“We thank FedEx Corporation for their long-standing naming rights sponsorship and work with our team and community and look forward to their continued partnership within the Commanders family,” the team wrote in a statement to The Washington Post. “We have already begun the process of identifying our next stadium naming rights partner – a partner that will play a critical role in ushering in the next era of not only Commanders football, but also an extensive slate of world-class live events and concerts.”
Two people familiar with the decision said FedEx exercised an opt-out clause before the end of 2023 that resulted from the team's sale, which closed in July. It surprised the Commanders given renewed fan interest and after a flood of new sponsorship deals.
“FedEx is a long-standing sponsor of multiple sports leagues, companies and teams,” the company wrote in a statement to The Post. “We continually review our marketing programs to ensure our investments align with our evolving business goals. As part of this review, we have decided not to continue as a FedEx Field naming rights sponsor, but to focus on our broader NFL sponsorship and opportunities that reflect our global footprint. We believe the future of the Washington Commanders is bright and we look forward to watching the team continue to develop under its new ownership.”
An investor group led by Josh Harris bought the Commanders for $6.05 billion last year from Daniel Snyder, whose weak 24-year ownership of the franchise eroded its fan base and led to numerous federal and NFL-led investigations into workplace and business operations of the team.
The team's naming rights agreement with FedEx, struck shortly after Snyder purchased the franchise from the Jack Kent Cooke estate for $800 million, was initially hailed as a groundbreaking deal for the team. But the relationship between the team and FedEx became increasingly strained.
Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, was one of the franchise's three minority owners from 2003 to 2021, alongside Robert Rothman and Dwight Schar.
The Post reported in November 2020 that a group of investors had bid $900 million for their ownership shares, totaling about 40 percent of the franchise. Snyder initially attempted to exercise a right of first refusal to match the offers to Smith and Rothman, but not the offer to Schar. This led to a dispute over whether Snyder could exercise this right in such a selective manner.
In March 2021, the NFL's finance committee approved a debt relief deal that allowed Snyder to take on $450 million in additional debt and buy out the three limited partners for approximately $875 million. That agreement resolved a contentious dispute that had led to a grievance and NFL arbitration and spilled into the courtroom. Rothman filed a federal lawsuit in Florida in December against Bank of America, accusing it of engaging in “improper financial dealings” during the process that led to Snyder's purchase of the shares.
In July 2020, FedEx played a role in the franchise's decision to change its controversial previous name. FedEx told the team in a letter that it would remove its signage from the stadium after the season if the team did not change its name. Later that month, the team announced it was “retiring” the name.
FedEx Field, originally called Jack Kent Cooke Stadium when it opened in 1997, has since fallen into disrepair, and Snyder had long hoped to move to a new stadium. But attempts to boost competition between DC, Maryland and Virginia proved unsuccessful, and the myriad investigations into the team's workplace and operations slowed any momentum.
Harris' purchase of the team included its training facility in Ashburn as well as the stadium and surrounding land. The team is contractually obligated to play its home games in a stadium built on the site in Landover until September 2027, after which it can stay or go.
To improve the structure and fan experience in the meantime, Harris and his ownership group invested $75 million to upgrade the stadium while developing a plan for a future venue. As the team awaits a legislative resolution that could pave the way for a stadium in D.C. and weighs its options in other jurisdictions, a move is unlikely to occur before 2030.
In the meantime, the Commanders are working with Elevate, a consulting firm led by San Francisco 49ers president Al Guido, to find a new naming rights partner. It's possible the team could get a short-term sponsor to carry them through the life of Landover Stadium. Alternatively, the company could seek a partner for the remaining years in the current stadium as well as starting at a new venue, similar to what the Tennessee Titans did with Nissan. In November, Elevate secured a 20-year sponsorship deal with the automaker that includes naming rights for the Titans' current stadium and the new stadium, scheduled to open in 2027.
“They want the right partner, and they want a long-term partner,” Guido said of the Commanders’ ownership group. “This could mean that the partner in the new building continues to act as a naming rights partner. It could mean that the partner continues at a so-called foundation level [as an exclusive partner] in the new building. But I do think that … when deals like this happen, a partner of this size coming online will be very interested in moving forward.”
Sports naming rights contracts have increased in importance and value, providing franchises with significant capital to help maintain structures. San Francisco-based Social Finance Inc., a banking and financial services company, agreed to a $625 million sponsorship of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers since 2020 . The Raiders' stadium, which opened in Las Vegas that same year, has a 30-year naming rights deal with Allegiant Airlines that averages more than $20 million a year.
The only two NFL stadiums that do not have named sponsors are also the league's oldest: Soldier Field in Chicago and Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.