The Washington Commanders are turning back to their roots in 2026.
The Commanders revealed a new uniform set on Wednesday, delivering their fanbase a familiar look that "fuses the franchise’s storied past with a bold, modern identity," the team said in a press release.
Washington is returning to the traditional helmets, jerseys and pants worn by the franchise since 1979, a look in which the club won three Super Bowls (XVII, XXII, XXVI) and four NFC titles. Save for the 2002 season -- a campaign spent celebrating the club's 70th anniversary by swapping out its usual home uniform for a throwback kit built around a spear motif -- Washington's identity has long existed in this appearance. The new ownership group, led by lifelong Washington fan Josh Harris, is returning the franchise to the aesthetic appearance its fans know best.
Speaking of the spear, that element is also returning to the team's uniforms for the first time since 2003 in a fashion similar to the last time it appeared as an alternate uniform.
The Commanders' new closet will include the "Hail Raiser" all-black alternate, featuring a low-gloss black helmet adorned by the club's W logo with a spear interwoven through the center of the mark. The rest of the black uniform includes the same details: burgundy block numbers outlined in gold, a gold-and-burgundy pair of stripes seen on the cuffs of the jersey sleeves and down each side of the team's black pants, and a triple stripe -- in burgundy-gold-burgundy -- down the center of the black helmet. The look produces a much-needed upgrade over the team's previous all-black alternate first introduced with the club's Commanders rebrand in 2022.
Washington first tested the idea of returning to the team's traditional appearance in 2025 when the Commanders added their "Super Bowl era" uniform to their closet, which now serves as the team's road look. The uniform reverted the club back to its trademark appearance: a burgundy helmet with a gold facemask and a white-gold-white triple stripe (with each color separated by a thin burgundy line), white jersey with burgundy block numbers trimmed in gold and a burgundy-and-gold stripe along the sleeve cuffs. The burgundy pants feature mirrored white-and-gold stripes, while the home uniform inverts this appearance (burgundy jersey, white pants), creating a persistent look across all three kits.
Commanders fans will likely celebrate the inclusion of another beloved element: gold pants. Unlike the last time Washington donned gold pants, these trousers will not include the club's traditional burgundy-white-burgundy stripe pattern down the side. Instead, Washington will wear a white-burgundy striping pair down the sides "to keep a consistent visual identity across the entire closet."
Washington is returning to its iconic look, the aesthetic appearance in which the franchise enjoyed its greatest success, while adding a modern spin by applying the same formula (plus the beloved spear motif) to the all-black alternate.