Say goodbye to the Washington Football Team and say hello to the Washington Commanders.
After a name-changing process that took two years, the Washington-based NFL franchise announced on Wednesday that they would be known as the Commanders moving forward. As part of the announcement, the team also unveiled its new uniforms and logo.
In the past two years, the franchise reportedly considered several names, most of them having some type of connection with the military to reflect the team’s bond with the U.S. capital. Aside from Commanders, other options included the Admirals, Defenders, Presidents, Redhawks, and Red Wolves. The last one was particularly popular with the fans but ended up being discarded due to trademark issues.
“What this effort really is at its core is not landing on a name that was going to be unanimously loved by everybody but to start a process by which we can continue to preserve what’s best about the Burgundy and Gold,” said team president Jason Wright. “Those have been colors and a name and a franchise that, when you have trouble talking to each other on other topics, you can come together and hug and high-five and be one while cheering this team on.”
After retiring their previous name, which was considered offensive to Native Americans, in 2019, Washington opted to have a generic identity in the past two seasons. This included adopting the name “Football Team” and having the letter “W” as its official logo. The team also removed their traditional stripes and logo from helmets and replaced them with gold numbers.
