Washington has hired Jason Wright as team president, making him the first president for Black Team in NFL history and only the fourth former player to go to that role.
“This team is an ideal opportunity for me right now,” Wright said in a statement. “The transformation of the Washington Football Team is happening across all aspects of the organization – from football to operations to branding to culture – and will make us a truly modern and aspiring franchise. We want to set new standards for the NFL.”
The team had been without a president since Bruce Allen was fired after the 2019 season. The team hired coach Ron Rivera and gave him full power, as owner Dan Snyder said he wanted a coach-centric approach.
Wright’s hiring does not change that, because he would not be involved with the football team like Allen was during his 10-year reign. Wright will only focus on the business side, including operations, finance, sales and marketing. Like Rivera, he will report directly to Snyder.
“If I could fit a leader for this important time in our history, it would be Jason,” Snyder said in a statement. “His experience as a former player, along with his business acumen, gives him a perspective that is unfavorable in the league. We will not rest until we are a championship caliber team, on and off the field.”
Recently, one former Washington longtime employee said the team needed to add more diverse voices, but also needed to expand its net to look for talent. Too often, this person said, the organization relied on a small circle to select high-level employees.
Wright’s rent shows that a wider net was cast. He had been a partner in the operations practice of McKinsey & Company, a global strategy and management consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Among other things, Wright focused on hiring executives at environmental level. He also co-piloted McKinsey’s anti-racism and inclusion strategy and helped create the Black Economic Forum.
In Washington, Wright will lead a franchise that has undergone drastic changes in recent months. The organization decided to retire its former name and will first be called the Washington Football Team. There was also a devastating report in The Washington Post last month detailing cases of sexual harassment involving five former employees.
In multiple stories, ESPN has detailed issues surrounding what many called a toxic atmosphere in the building. Among the solutions were many staff, current and former, a strong leader in the role of president and more diverse voices. Washington also hired Julie Donaldson as head of its communications division, making her the team’s highest ranked female executive.
Wright played seven years in the NFL as a running back with four teams, retiring after the 2010 season to attend business school. He entered the NFL as a developed free agent from Northwestern, where he remains the sixth all-time leading rusher in school history.
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