POLITICAL PLAY OR HOMECOMING? Florio Slams Commanders' $2.7B RFK Stadium Deal as “A Show”

The Washington Commanders are heading back to the District.

Commanders owner Josh Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced plans to bring the franchise back to its roots at the RFK Stadium. The team has played in Landover, Maryland, for nearly 30 years.

While some fans are excited to see the Commanders return to Washington, others view the move as a political ploy.

"It's a political game bringing in John Riggins and Joe Gibbs," NFL analyst Mike Florio said on a recent episode of Pro Football Talk. "It's all a political game, and it's all a show aimed at getting people behind the project and aimed at shouting down those who would be opposed to it."

Florio took issue with how the deal was presented to the public—particularly the framing of the headline announcing $2.7 billion investment.

"I've got a statement from the D.C. Mayor's office, and the headline is, ‘$2.7 billion investment from the Commanders is the single largest private investment in District history,’ in bold and big letters at the top—because that's how you get people to not notice the taxpayer money that's going to be added to it, right?” he said.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris in attendance of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

According to Florio, the announcement attempts to downplay the potential burden on taxpayers.

“Now, will it work? I don't know, and I'm not saying I'm for it or against it. I just think this is part of the game that you have to play in an era where people aren't all that thrilled about public money being contributed to multibillionaires.”

He continued, emphasizing how public officials may be trying to shape the narrative:

“Yeah, period. I hear you. So what do you do? How do we take this and spin it in a way that sounds good? It's the biggest private investment that's ever been made. Yeah, it's probably gonna be a pretty damn big public investment too—but it's the biggest private investment that's ever been made in the District of Columbia."

Florio said he supports democracy and wants transparency regarding stadium investments, especially decisions that could affect taxpayers who are also fans.

“At a time when there's a lot of talk about the future of democracy, I'm in favor of democracy. I say put all these on a ballot. Why are they trying to hide from the taxpayers? And I know that they elect their representatives. But I'd like to say, for something this significant, people should have a voice. But they know not to give them a voice because you know what they will say—when the question is: should we give a lot of our public money to somebody who's worth, I don't know how many billion, Josh Harris is worth? The answer is gonna be no. Pay for it yourself. There it is—look at that right there.”

The Commanders’ return to D.C. taps into decades of football history, but it also reignites long-standing debates about stadium financing—who foots the bill and who ultimately benefits.