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John Kent Cooke has largely remained in the background since Daniel Snyder bought the Washington NFL franchise from his father’s estate in 1999. Cooke worked for the franchise for years and assumed control of the team after his father — the legendary Jack Kent Cooke — died in 1997.
However, Jack Kent Cooke’s will stated that the team must be sold to the highest bidder, which was Snyder, for $800 million in 1999.
Through the years, the younger Cooke clearly didn’t like what Snyder had done to the franchise he loved.
On Thursday, the now-Commanders will have a new owner. NFL owners will vote to approve a group led by Josh Harris as Washington’s new owner. After 24 years of Snyder, the franchise finally gets a fresh start.
In an interview with Matthew Paras of The Washington Times, Cooke is excited about a new era of Washington football.
“It’s going to be a very good new era,” Cooke told Paras. “And the interim era between the Cooke family and the Harris family was not a good era.”
While Cooke was positive about the ownership change, one thing he didn’t like was the team name. Washington rebranded as the Commanders in Feb. 2022, after Snyder, due to pressure, changed the “Redskins” name to the temporary moniker, “Football Team,” in July 2020.
“The Commanders is a poor name, and I think it’s unpopular, so they should change the name,” Cooke said.
Many Washington will agree with Cooke. Others are just happy to turn the page from Snyder, regardless of the team name.
It doesn’t appear that changing the name again is on Harris’ agenda, but he will certainly be asked about it when he officially meets the media as Washington’s new owner.