Hail to the … well, it’s apparently never going away.
The Washington Commanders will sport a different but very familiar look in 2025 – heck, they looked a lot different in 2024 with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at the controls – unveiling an alternate uniform for the upcoming season that will take their title-starved fans back to the Joe Gibbs glory years.
What’s new is really old as the Commanders are set to wear what is basically the same look the team had while reaching four Super Bowls between the 1982 and ’91 seasons, winning the Lombardi Trophy three times in that span. The burgundy pants, white jersey and burgundy helmet with the three stripes down the center will certainly evoke memories of Gibbs, John Riggins, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and many others. What’s missing will be the team’s former Indian head logo, replaced by the Commanders’ current ‘W’ insignia.
The announcement on social media used the phrase ‘Fit for Old D.C.,’ a nod to the team’s fight song which urges the team to ‘fight for Old D.C.’
“We are excited to celebrate Washington’s incredible history with these iconic, Super Bowl Era uniforms this season,” team president Mark Clouse said in a statement.
“Ever since Josh Harris and our ownership group acquired the team back in 2023, they’ve placed great value in finding ways to connect the past and present and honor those that made the burgundy and gold what it is today. These uniforms recognize the most successful era of our franchise – one that reflects a culture of excellence and encompasses many historical moments and special memories amongst our fanbase. Our coaches, players and the entire organization could not be more excited to celebrate our team’s legacy while creating new memories in these uniforms this season.”
The Super Bowl-era throwbacks will debut November 2 when the Commanders host the Seattle Seahawks on ‘Sunday Night Football’ and will appear on ‘SNF’ again four weeks later against the Denver Broncos. The alternates will be worn a total of three times, the final one on Christmas, when the archrival Dallas Cowboys come to Northwest Stadium for a game that will be broadcast on Netflix.
The team’s other recent alternate has featured black jerseys and pants with the club’s signature burgundy and gold serving as trim, including for the District of Columbia’s flag (normally red and white) featured on the sleeve. The black helmet is also distinctive, featuring the club’s gold “W” on the forehead with the stars and bars of the D.C. flag in gold at the back. Each player’s jersey number was placed on the side of the helmet where the primary insignia usually goes. While some embraced this darker version, other fans have complained the black motif made the club look too similar to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wednesday’s eveal also comes at a time when the team is closer than ever to building a new venue on the RFK Stadium site it vacated three decades ago.
The new alternate becomes the franchise’s eighth different uniform (not including various jersey-pants combinations) since 2020, when the murder of George Floyd compelled the team to drop its former nickname, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as an “insulting and contemptuous term for an American Indian.” Prior to 2020, many Native American groups and others had lobbied the team to drop the name, but former owner Daniel Snyder told USA TODAY Sports in 2013 that, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER – you can use caps.’However Snyder, a highly controversial and widely despised figure for nearly the entirety of his 24-year ownership, ultimately relented before selling the team under intense pressure to a group led by Harris two years ago for more than $6 billion.
The club played as the “Washington Football Team” in 2020 and ’21 before a somewhat botched rollout of the Commanders rebrand under Snyder in 2022. The local reception to the new nickname, which is meant to tie in with the region’s vast military community, has been lukewarm, many fans still wearing gear with the former logo or even the interim WFT garb instead. But the arrival of Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn has begun a long-needed revitalization of the brand and organization, which will host the 2027 NFL draft on the National Mall.
Harris definitively stated earlier this year that the club’s former name − many fans (and President Trump) prefer it even if it is a slur − won’t return. Quinn sparked a brief sensation last year by wearing a T-shirt featuring the W logo sprouting a feather similar to the one on the old emblem.
But Commanders will remain the nickname moving forward.
‘Now, in this building, the Commanders means something. It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, are mentally tough and great teammates,’ Harris said in February. ‘It’s really meaningful. That name is growing in meaning.
‘As far as rebranding and bringing our past – which obviously I grew up with, and all the Super Bowl championships – and our future together, you’re going to see us move back toward honoring our past and bringing it together with our future.’
A broader reboot of the Commanders uniforms in the near future (but not 2025) has been rumored but would require approval from the NFL, which normally requires teams to stick with a uniform overhaul for at least five years.