Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders
Current season
Washington Commanders logo	Washington Commanders wordmark
Logo	Wordmark
	Established July 9, 1932; 92 years ago; First season: 1932; Play in Northwest Stadium (Landover, Maryland); Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
League / conference affiliations
	National Football League (1932–present) Eastern Division (1933–1949); American Conference (1950–1952); Eastern Conference (1953–1969) Capitol Division (1967–1969); ; National Football Conference (1970–present) NFC East (1970–present); ;
Uniforms
Team colors	Burgundy, gold, white, black;
Fight song	"Hail to the Commanders"
Mascot	Major Tuddy
Website	Commanders.com
Personnel
Owner(s)	Josh Harris
General manager	Adam Peters
Head coach	Dan Quinn
Team history
	Boston Braves (1932); Boston Redskins (1933–1936); Washington Redskins (1937–2019); Washington Football Team (2020–2021); Washington Commanders (2022–present);
Team nicknames
	The Burgundy and Gold; The 'Skins (as the Redskins); The Over-the-Hill Gang (1970s); The Fun Bunch (1980s receiving group); The Hogs (1980s offensive line);
Championships
	League championships (5); NFL championships (pre-1970 AFL–NFL merger) (2); 1937, 1942; Super Bowl championships (3); 1982 (XVII), 1987 (XXII), 1991 (XXVI);
	Conference championships (5) NFC: 1972, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991;
	Division championships (15) NFL Eastern: 1936, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945; NFC East: 1972, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015, 2020;
Playoff appearances (25)
	1936, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2020;
Home fields
	Braves Field (1932); Fenway Park (1933–1936); Griffith Stadium (1937–1960); RFK Stadium (1961–1996); Northwest Stadium (1997–present);
Team owner(s)
	George Preston Marshall (1932–1965); Edward Bennett Williams (1965–1979); Jack Kent Cooke (1979–1997); Cooke estate (1997–1999); Daniel Snyder (1999–2023); Josh Harris (2023–present);

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and have won more than 600. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders",^[a] which is played by their marching band after every home game touchdown. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.

The Commanders were founded by George Preston Marshall as the Boston Braves in 1932. The team changed its name to the Redskins the following year before moving to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Redskins in 1937. The usage of the term redskin was controversial for decades. In 2020, pressure from several NFL and team sponsors led to its being retired as part of a wave of name changes in the wake of the George Floyd protests, which led to larger awareness of the Native American mascot controversy. The team played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.

Washington won the 1937 and 1942 NFL championship games and Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. Washington has finished a season as league runner-up six times, losing the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 title games and Super Bowls VII and XVIII. With 14 division titles and 24 postseason appearances, they have an overall postseason record of 23–18. Their three Super Bowl wins are tied with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots (six each), San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (five each), and Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs (four each).

All of Washington's championships were attained during two 10-year spans. From 1936 to 1945, the team went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them under general manager Jack Espey and head coach Ray Flaherty. The second period lasted from 1982 to 1991 under owner Jack Kent Cooke, general managers Bobby Beathard and Charley Casserly, and head coach Joe Gibbs. From 1946 to 1970, Washington posted just four winning seasons and never reached the postseason. They went without a single winning season from 1956 to 1968, a span that included their worst regular-season record: 1–12–1 in 1961. Since their last Super Bowl victory in 1991, they have won the NFC East four times with only seven postseason appearances.
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