Overview
- ESPN reported back-channel outreach from the White House to Commanders ownership about naming the planned $3.7 billion RFK-site stadium for President Trump, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “a beautiful name.”
- A team source told ESPN there have been no formal discussions, and both the Commanders and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office declined public comment.
- Final authority over a commemorative name would rest with the D.C. Council and the National Park Service, a departure from typical corporate naming-rights arrangements controlled by teams.
- Trump attended Sunday’s Lions–Commanders game for a Salute to Service ceremony, sat in owner Josh Harris’s suite, and briefly joined Fox’s broadcast during the third quarter.
- The D.C. Council approved the roughly $3.7–$3.8 billion RFK redevelopment in September for a projected 2030 opening, following Trump’s earlier threats to impede the project over the team’s name.