After receiving immense public pressure from major sponsors earlier this month, Washington announced in a statement Monday that the team would withdraw the ‘Redskins’ name and logo. The change was probably not an owner that Dan Snyder wanted to make as he declared in 2013 that the team would “never” change his name.
However, former Washington general manager Vinny Cerrato believes there may have been another reason why Snyder finally agreed to drop the name.
In an interview on ESPN’s ‘Golic and Wingo’, Cerrato explained that he believes Snyder will try to use the name change as a “chip” to eventually build a new stadium in Washington, DC, one “bigger and better” than its good friend. Jerry Jones’ 100,000-seat seat in Dallas.
“From Jerry [Jones] He built his stadium … we played the Cowboys, we flew and we had dinner at Jerry’s box, “Cerrato said.” Jerry gave us a tour of the stadium, he’s pressing the button to open and close the roof. Since then, [Snyder said] “I’m going to have a bigger and better one.”
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Cerrato said that now that the name has been withdrawn, Snyder will be able to make the stadium of his dreams come true.
“Trust me when I tell you this, Dan will have a bigger and better one,” Cerrato said. “He will use it as a chip to get the land where RFK was, to change the name. I bet he is somewhere involved there. The name change is probably also helping him get the property he really wants.”
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Before the name change, it was no secret that the owner wants a new stadium, specifically one in downtown Washington at the team’s former RFK site. However, the process of building a new stadium may not be so easy.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said in June that she believes the name should be changed and that the team will not be allowed to build a new stadium in DC until that happens. Even after Washington’s statement earlier this week, Mayor Bowser said there are still many obstacles for Washington to build a new stadium at the former RFK location.
Washington’s current lease as FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, will expire at the end of the 2027 season.
Only time will tell if the name change ends up helping Snyder build his “biggest and best” stadium in DC. Despite that, Cerrato believes the owner will look back on the name change and wonder why it took so long. in doing it.
“As far as our society is concerned, I think it was an absolute thing to do. I think he realized that,” Cerrato said. “Your business partners, Dwight [Schar]Rob Rothman and Fred Smith recently tried to pressure him. So I think it was something that should be done. In five years, when Dan thinks about it again, he’ll probably think “Why did I wait so long?”
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