The chairman of the D.C. Council said he believes the Council will approve the deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C. — but it’s going to take longer than the team and the mayor have agreed to.

After months of delays, Mayor Muriel Bowser sent her 2026 budget to the Council. It includes funding for the stadium development and her 2025 supplemental budget, which includes $400 million in cuts imposed by Congress.

Since the announcement that Bowser and Commanders owner Josh Harris reached a deal to bring the team back to D.C., the big question has been: Will the D.C. Council approve the deal to spend more than $1 billion of D.C. taxpayer money?

On Thursday, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson — who has opposed public funding for the stadium — said a stadium deal will likely be approved.

“Let me be clear. I think that we, I think that ultimately, the Council will agree with the stadium. But I think that we can make the deal better,” he said. “It’s what the Council has done with every stadium proposal in the past. But this all takes time. We don’t even have the documents concerning the stadium.”

Mendelson warned there are still some obstacles, with the first being timing: The deal signed by the mayor and the team calls for Council approval by July 15 or the Commanders can pull out.

Mendelson said he doesn’t see a way the Council can approve the Commanders deal — and the budgets — until late July or early August.

“I think the July 15 deadline, which was negotiated without any collaboration or discussion with the Council, is going to be very difficult,” he said. “The members met yesterday to discuss what the budget schedule would look like, and that’s going to be difficult.”

Mendelson also expressed concerns about the financial impact of the deal for taxpayers, but he is optimistic those can be worked out.

“I have found the Commanders to be very cooperative, and they want to get this deal done, and we want to get this deal done,” Mendelson said.

The Commanders deal is far from the biggest issue facing D.C. residents in the budgets just submitted by the mayor. Both budgets will include hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts, including about $400 million in cuts imposed by Congress that have to be made before October.

Mendelson has a sober warning to D.C. residents about what those cuts will mean: “I think they should be bracing for bad news, but I don’t know exactly what that looks like. And when I say bad news, that there will be service reductions. There’ll be contracts frozen and probably some furloughs.”

The Council plans to hold public hearings on both the stadium deal and the budget cuts in coming weeks.

If the District misses that July 15 deadline to get the Commanders deal approved, the team and the District could agree to extend that deadline, or the team could opt to restart negotiations with Maryland or Virginia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Mystics will be kicking off their season with a home opener against the Atlanta Dream on Friday night.

The team recently shared news that guard Georgia Amoore suffered a right ACL injury back in April during practice. According to the team, “Amoore and the team will examine treatment and rehabilitation options.” There has not been an update on her injury since the team originally shared the news. 

MORE RELATED NEWS: Washington Mystics guard Georgia Amoore suffers ACL injury

The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C.

Tickets are still available and start as low as $27, according to TicketMaster.

DALLAS – The Dallas Cowboys will face off against the Washington Commanders for their first Christmas Day game in 15 years.

The game will be played in the Washington D.C. area, the team announced on its website and social media.

Dallas Cowboys Christmas Day Game

By the numbers:

While playing on Thanksgiving Day is a tradition for the Cowboys, the team rarely plays on Christmas Day.

There have only been five games on Dec. 25 in Cowboys franchise history. One of those was an AFC Central Division playoff game.

Overall, the team’s record on Christmas Day is 2-3, according to Pro Football Hall of Fame records.

Cowboys-Commanders Past Matchups

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 05: Trey Lance #19 of the Dallas Cowboys looks to pass the ball against the Washington Commanders during the first quarter at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

By the numbers:

Dallas has a 79-49-2 record against Washington.

The two teams have played 130 times during the regular season but have only faced each other twice in the postseason. Washington won both of those games.

Last season, the Cowboys defeated the Commanders in November but lost in January.

NFL Schedule Release

What’s next:

The full NFL schedule has not been released yet.

The league is set to release the schedule at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Dallas Cowboys Opponents

Dig deeper:

Although the full Cowboys’ schedule has not yet been released, we do know the team will play the Philadelphia Eagles for their season opener at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, Sept. 4.

The Cowboys will also continue their Thanksgiving Day tradition with a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 27.

We also know the team’s opponents for the year. The dates and order of the matchups will be released Wednesday night.

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Dallas Cowboys 2025-2026 Season

NFL Draft: Cowboys select Tyler Booker in first round

The Dallas Cowboys selected Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker with the 12th overall pick in the NFL Draft. FOX 4’s Jeff Kolb and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris break down the pick and what was happening in the moments leading up to the pick being announced.

Big picture view:

The Cowboys are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 7-10 season.

This time around they will have a new coach, former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

Quarterback Dak Prescott is also expected to return from a hamstring tendon avulsion that ended his season in Week 9.

Prescott enters the season 2,746 yards behind Tony Romo for the most passing yards in Cowboys history.

The Cowboys are hopeful a healthier season could lead them back to the playoffs.