Washington Football Team in no rush to change name

The Washington Football Team is in no rush to find a permanent name.

Team president Jason Wright said Tuesday that there’s a “pretty good chance” the Football Team name sticks around next season. Wright cited all the steps the team has to go through to confirm a new name as one of the main reasons for the slowed process, but also doesn’t see the need to rush anything. 

ESPN’s Dan Graziano echoed Wright’s thoughts, reporting that the franchise doesn’t plan on rushing a decision.

Graziano said that Washington’s choice to go with the Washington Football Team as a placeholder name bought them more time to choose a proper name.

Graziano also detailed the potential complications of a name change, including trademark issues.

The former Washington team name was a controversy for nearly 30 years. When Washington played in the 1991 Super Bowl, there were 2,000 protesters outside of the stadium. Current owner Dan Synder bought the team in 1999 and insisted there would be no name change. In fact, he told USA Today in 2013 that he would never change the name, and that they could “put it in all caps.”

Synder began to face more pressure to change the team’s name after the death of George Floyd. Many investors and sponsors, such as FedEx and Nike, threatened to pull out of their deal with Washington if the name wasn’t changed. On July 13, Washington announced it would retire its name after a 10-day review of the state of the franchise. Not wanting to rush the name change, they went with the Washington Football Team as the placeholder. Now, it could become more than just a one-year fix.