The transfer was made by the franchise’s decision-makers after receiving vital suggestions from followers, who’ve lobbied for the crew to deliver again some staples of its previous.
Washington’s gold pants, which had a stripe down the facet — the brand new ones don’t as a result of the stripe doesn’t match the Commanders’ jerseys — have been staples of the crew’s uniforms throughout its earliest years, when it moved from Boston to the D.C. space in 1937. The franchise wore gold pants for practically 4 many years earlier than shifting away from them after the 1978 season, save for just a few particular events in 1994 and the early 2000s.
It wasn’t till 2010, at first of the Mike Shanahan period, that the franchise reintroduced the gold pants as a part of its major uniforms.
“In speaking to the alumni … and to the followers, they needed to see the gold pants,” crew president Bruce Allen mentioned on the time.
Gamers appeared to agree, particularly after Washington opened that season with a 13-7 win in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night time Soccer.”
“You look good, you play good,” Brian Orakpo advised The Washington Submit afterward. “We seemed clear on the market, man; we seemed actual good.”
The second go-round for the gold pants lasted 9 seasons, six of which ended with shedding information.
The final time the crew sported its gold pants was within the 2018 season finale, when Washington took a 24-0 drubbing from the Philadelphia Eagles at then-FedEx Subject in Landover. Solely 4 gamers who participated in that recreation are nonetheless with the crew: punter Tress Approach, defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne and huge receiver Jamison Crowder, who re-signed with the franchise in 2023.
In accordance with the Gridiron Uniform Database, Washington is 130-114-3 in gold pants since 1969. However the Commanders’ new possession group, led by Josh Harris, has made recognizing the historical past of the crew a precedence. Many former gamers, together with John Riggins and Darrell Inexperienced, have returned in help of the franchise’s new period.
When Washington unveiled its new identify — the Commanders — in 2022, it additionally launched new uniforms, together with an all-black ensemble that appeared to tug the franchise even farther from its previous.
In an April Submit-Schar College ballot, most native sports activities followers mentioned they both dislike or hate the identify and consider the crew ought to change it a 3rd time.
In a much-less-official investigation by The Submit a decade earlier, followers’ love for the gold pants appeared to strike the same majority. Nonetheless, it’s unclear whether or not this variation will result in a broader uniform change within the close to future for Washington.
NFL groups can’t change their house and away uniforms greater than as soon as each 5 years, besides in “extenuating circumstances,” in accordance with the league’s structure and bylaws. Such circumstances embrace a membership possession change. Requests for adjustments should be submitted by March 1 a 12 months previous to the 12 months during which the adjustments would happen.
Beginning in 2002, the NFL allowed groups so as to add a 3rd uniform design — both an alternate colour scheme, utilizing colours already within the membership’s palette, or a “traditional” uniform from the crew’s historical past.
This offseason, NFL homeowners authorized one other uniform change by permitting groups so as to add a 3rd helmet design for the 2025 season.
