The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Redskins compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at FedExField in Landover, Maryland; Its headquarters and training facility are at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Virginia, and the Redskins Complex in Richmond, Virginia, respectively. The Redskins have played more than 1,000 games since 1932, and are one of only five franchises to record over 600 regular season and postseason wins, doing so in 2015. The Redskins have won five NFL Championships (two pre-merger, and three Super Bowls). The franchise has captured 14 NFL divisional titles and six NFL conference championships. The Redskins were the first team in the NFL with an official marching band, and also the first team to have a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins".
The team began play as the Boston Braves in 1932, based in Boston, Massachusetts, before relocating to Washington, D.C. in 1937. The Redskins won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in, and lost, the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls VII and XVIII. They have made 24 postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23-18. The Redskins' three Super Bowl wins are tied with the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (six), San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (five each), and the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and New England Patriots (four each).
All of the Redskins' league titles were attained during two 10-year spans. From 1936 to 1945, the Redskins went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them. The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where the Redskins appeared in the postseason seven times, captured four Conference titles, and won three Super Bowls out of four appearances. The Redskins have also experienced failure in their history. The most notable period of failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which the Redskins did not have a single postseason appearance. During this period, the Redskins went without a single winning season between 1956 and 1968. In 1961, the franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing. Since 1992, the Redskins have only won the NFC East three times, made five postseason appearances, and had six seasons with a winning record.
According to Forbes, the Redskins are the third most valuable franchise in the NFL, behind the Cowboys and Patriots, and were valued at approximately $2.4 billion as of 2015. They have also broken the NFL's mark for single-season attendance for over ten years in a row.
The team name and logo have been the subject of controversy, with lawsuits being filed by Native American groups who consider the team name and logo offensive. Recent polls have shown a lack of major support among fans for a name change.