The 2024 NFL trade deadline passed a month ago, but the Washington Commanders could still be involved in a major trade.
Maryland U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen proposed a trade that would allow the District of Columbia to develop a stadium to move the Washington Commanders away from their current home at Northwest Stadium (formerly FedEx Field), according to washington mail.
The proposed exchange:
DC gets: Maryland senators do not oppose a bill that would allow the District to redevelop the RFK Stadium site, potentially for a new home for the Commanders.
Maryland gets– One of two DC Air National Guard squadrons (and the only one with fighter jets), a public statement from commanders about their preferred location for their next stadium, and assurances about what would be built in place of Northwest Stadium
It’s an exchange you don’t see every day, but it’s also the kind of thing that can happen when professional football, military spending, and the thicket of D.C. politics intersect.
When we last left DC in its attempt to woo Maryland commanders, the US House of Representatives had passed, with bipartisan support, the bill that Maryland senators are currently threatening to oppose. The DC RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act simply gives control of the RFK Stadium site to DC, so it can do with it as it pleases. It could be a mixed-use development site, a multimillion-dollar NFL stadium or anything else.
The bill received opposition from Maryland lawmakers in both the House and Senate for obvious reasons. The Commanders and their tax money are currently in Maryland, which also has to fight Virginia in its battle to retain the team. The proposed trade would further open the door for DC to land the Commanders, but at least it would give something to Maryland, similar to a situation many NFL teams experience with pending free agents.
Maryland is reportedly the only state without a National Guard flying mission next year, due to the US Air Force’s plans to convert the state’s existing squadron into one with ground-based cyber responsibilities.
Eleanor Holmes, DC’s non-voting congressional delegate, issued a statement to the Post expressing concern about the proposed exchange:
“The transfer would leave the DCNG without aviation units, forcing it to rely on the goodwill of other National Guards for common aviation issues that arise in DC, such as intercepting aircraft, patrolling the skies, and rescuing or evacuating people in emergencies.” Norton said in a statement Tuesday. “While DC could request assistance from other National Guards, there is no guarantee that air resources will be provided in a timely manner, or at all.”
“DC rightly deserves to benefit from the land on which RFK Stadium is located that is in disrepair and the trade-off for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the campus to DC should not come at the expense of DCNG aviation resources,” the statement said. from Norton.
The situation also reflects D.C.’s inability to govern itself, despite being home to more people than Vermont and Wyoming. The District has no votes in Congress and both chambers have authority over its affairs, which creates an awkward situation when competing with real states for anything.