Washington appoints NFL’s first black team president

Washington has hired the NFL’s first black team president, Jason Wright, 38, a former player.

Wright is more than excited to be one of the few former NFL players who have been appointed a position on the league and also being the first black team president. He also expressed his excitement about merging his passion for football and business.

“It’s a huge moment to bring those two worlds together,” he said. “What other jobs would they come together at such a unique time for an organization at the point our team is? I’m just happy I landed in this role at that time. There are other reasons it’s historic, but that’s a byproduct of me being the right and qualified candidate at this time. All of that is just icing on the cake.”

Wright also pointed to the significance of his new role, saying it’s beyond the game and the organization, but has more to do with the “hindrances that tend to be in place around Black talent”. The league needs a “shift in culture” and Wright, together with Dan and Tanya Sander, and Coach Rivera are trying to make possible.

Since the team fired its last president, Bruce Allen, in 2019, it has been without a president. The team’s coach, Ron Rivera was given full control of the team by the owner, Dan Snyder who said he wanted the team to be coach-centric. Hiring a new team president doesn’t change that.

Part of the deal is that Wright won’t be involved in the football side of the team like the former president. His job is to focus on the business side of the team, including operations, sales and marketing, and finance, reporting directly to Snyder.

“[Rivera] is the chief executive of everything that happens on the football side, and I run the business side,” Wright said.

Dan Snyder says Wright was the ideal candidate fit for the role because of “his experience as a former player, coupled with his business acumen”. He added that Wright had a better perspective that is “unrivaled in the league.” Hiring him was also timely in the history of the NFL and America.  

Wright had been a partner in McKinsey & Company, a global strategy, and management consulting firm, in Washington. He was also invested in getting executive-level managers to assist in environmental matters.

A former longtime Washington player recently said the team needed more diversity, expanding its net to search for new talent. Prior to now, the team had only searched within a smaller circle, the former player said. Therefore, hiring Wright showed that the net has been expanded.

In expanding its net, Washington has also hired Julie Donaldson as head of communications, making her the first woman to become part of the team’s radio broadcast.

“The facts say when you have a diverse leadership team, when you give more than one woman a voice in meaningful decisions, you get to better outcomes,” said Wright. “It’s so empowering to all other employees and particularly those that may have had challenges in the past to actually exerting their voice and bringing their full selves is priority No. 1.”