PHILADELPHIA — As Commanders majority owner Josh Harris entered the locker room after the team’s unforeseen playoff run ended in a 55-23 defeat to Eagles in Sunday’s NFC championship game, general manager Adam Peters patted Harris on the back. Outside, co-owners Mark Ein and Mitchell Rales wrapped up greeting every player and team employee who walked past.
“I am proud of everyone,” Harris told Front Office Sports after he emerged from the locker room. “We have a great future ahead.”
This season was supposed to be a transitional one in Harris’s second season as owner. The team entered the 2024 season with a new GM (Peters), head coach (Dan Quinn), and a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who was selected with the second-overall pick.
Instead of a rebuilding year, the Commanders compiled a 12-5 regular season record and ended up with their first NFC title game berth since 1991.
“It’s amazing what Dan and Adam have been able to put together,” Ein told FOS. “Just phenomenal. The team culture they’ve built and the way they’ve made these players come together as a team and perform at the highest level all season was incredible.”
Unlike that 1991 Washington team that was the last to win it all, however, the Commanders won’t have a chance to play for the Super Bowl.
“There’s been so much progress on and off the field,” Ein said. “This fan base has totally reawakened and the community loves this team again. Can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Roughly 1,000 fans energized by the Commanders’ upset playoff victories over the Buccaneers and Lions turned out to tailgate outside Lincoln Financial Field before Sunday’s game, another indication that one of the league’s historic franchises is amid a rebound after 24 years of derision under former owner Dan Snyder.
Punter Tress Way—the longest-tenured Commanders player at 11 seasons—wasn’t as shocked by the team’s success as most.
“I wouldn’t say it was unexpected,” Way told FOS. “The first time we saw No. 5 [Daniels] play football, we were like, ‘Alright, we are gonna be in the mix.’ And as consistent as DQ [Dan Quinn] is in communicating to us and how we were just gonna throw punches, we were just gonna fight. Every game was the same. We just went out there and started throwing haymakers.”
The team’s improvements off-the-field were nearly as impressive.
As Harris put together a bid to purchase the Commanders in early 2023, the team was 22nd in local revenue and 31st in gate revenue, according to a prospectus obtained by FOS. (Rankings are estimates and encompass local revenue metrics including gate, suite, and sponsorship revenue.)
“We expect an ownership change to immediately increase attendance and sponsorships,” the prospectus stated.
And those who put that analysis together were correct. While Harris needed to assemble a group of 20 limited partners to meet former owner Dan Snyder’s demand for a $6.05 billion purchase price, an agreement to sell the franchise was reached in May 2023. Snyder, however, didn’t let the franchise he purchased for $800 million in 1999 go quietly.
“The deal was hard,” Harris told FOS in 2023. “It was all stressful. I had to put together a group of 20 investors, raise capital, and then convince the NFL that we were going to be good stewards. So, it was a really complicated deal.”
Exactly how difficult Snyder was in the end didn’t come to light until ESPN reported Saturday that he sought to kill the deal after owners unanimously approved Harris’s record purchase in July 2023.
“I don’t want to do this,” Snyder said, per ESPN.
Snyder refused to provide his banking information to Harris so he could transfer the billions to Snyder. Ultimately, Snyder relented and Harris transferred the money. The Harris era was officially underway, much to the excitement of area fans and businesses.
Local revenues have rebounded more than the prospectus projection of 12% ($198 million) from 2022 to 2024, a source told FOS. The Commanders, who were 30th out of the league’s 32 teams in home attendance, jumped to 17th in 2024.
Harris was saddled with the most outdated stadium in the NFL; he and his fellow investors committed millions to upgrade what is now known as Northwest Stadium. Harris and his limited partners also made major headway toward a potential return to D.C. with the RFK Stadium bill legislation becoming law this month.
While a new stadium is unlikely to open until 2029 at the earliest, there are other reasons for hope after Sunday’s thumping by the divisional rival Eagles, 55-23. The Commanders will enter the offseason with the third-most salary cap space (nearly $91 million), meaning one of the youngest rosters in the NFL could get some major additions in free agency.
“We had a great season.” Ein said. “There is so much to be proud of and so much to build on. It was a season of memories. People have refound a team they used to love.”
