Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders took the NFL by storm in 2024. Having ended what was the third-longest playoff win drought in the league, in addition to a 33-year conference championship appearance drought, the historic campaign will go down in history as one of the most unlikely playoff runs in gridiron history.
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In light of their newfound success, the club’s newest owner, Josh Harris, managed to finally secure a long-sought-after deal that will see the franchise return to its original home in Washington, D.C. The new stadium is set to feature 65,000 seats and will be placed on the same grounds as RFK Stadium.
In light of federal and district parties exchanging hands over the ownership of the original property, Harris offered to cover more than 75% of the building cost using his own private funds. Seeing as other owners, such as those of the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, have routinely sought out taxpayer funds to cover their costs, Harris’s finance-friendly offer proved to be enough to accomplish what was once believed to be an impossible task.
Between Daniels’ on-field heroics to Harris’ backroom dealings, the Commanders are set for a major increase in coverage for the 2025 season. With the team showing promising signs of a resurgence, Harris believes that now, more so than ever, is the perfect time to right the wrongs of the previous owner.
“We want to bring the Commanders home, with a new RFK that our fans will love, and our opponents will fear.”
However, things aren’t finalized just yet. In addition to the fact that it must be approved by the D.C. council, the deal also features opposition from groups such as Homes Not Stadiums. The organization has petitioned to get the issue onto the election ballots for the upcoming cycle in an attempt to block the construction.
With many wanting the land to be used to create affordable housing, Harris’s plans for revitalizing RFK Stadium are set to become a hot-button issue for members of the public in the coming months.
Most expensive NFL stadiums
While Harris’s minimum obligation of $2.7 billion seems staggering, it pales in comparison to the likes of his competitors. When adjusted for inflation, the construction cost of SoFi Stadium sits at $6.75 billion, firmly establishing it as the most expensive stadium in the National Football League today.
Likewise, Allegiant Stadium, MetLife Stadium, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium all boast construction totals of more than $2.27 billion. The next closest stadium lies with the San Francisco 49ers, as Levi Stadium features a construction cost of $1.74 billion.
Much like everything else that operates under the guise of inflation, the costs of NFL stadiums continue to soar. While it’s unlikely that anyone is bold enough to eclipse the budget of the Los Angeles Rams, the ever-prevalent issue of owners attempting to acquire taxpayers’ funds to accommodate their construction costs will surely become more and more polarizing as costs continue to rise.
Then again, if faced with the potential threat of losing their team altogether, some might find themselves willing to pay the fee to keep them around. Either way, the NFL as a whole continues to prove that cash is indeed king.
