9:28 AM
The Washington Football Team will announce a new name before the Super Bowl, nearly 19 months after dropping its old one. It won't be a favorite on social media, according to the team president.
The name of the team will be revealed on Feb. 2 - 11 days before the Super Bowl. The WFT co-CEO confirmed that the final eight candidates were the Armada, Presidents, brigade, Redhawks, Commanders, RedWolves, Defenders and Football Team.
Some team officials said that those names were not an official list. When asked if those were the candidates, she replied, "Yes." The WFT president wrote on the team website that the team would not be called the Wolves or RedWolves due to the trademarks held by other teams. Wright said that it wouldn't work, but that it was a fan favorite.
"We didn't want to go down a route that could be difficult to navigate," Wright said. The prospect of years of litigation wasn't something we wanted you, our fans, to have to bear as you begin to embrace a new brand.
Washington went with Football Team for the past two seasons after announcing on July 13, 2020 that it would drop the one it had used since the team formed in 1932. The franchise had resisted public pressure to change its name in the past.
The team looked into changing their name after protests and multiple discussions in the spring of 2020. Wright was hired in August 2020 to help with the name change. burgundy and gold will still be the team's color scheme.
Washington coach Ron Rivera said they wanted to include the military in the new name. It's unclear if that's still the desire after a process that included focus groups.
It would be nearly impossible to pick a name that all of our fans would identify with, but we are very excited about our final selection, which is aligned with our values and represents the region.
Washington was the first team in the four major North American professional sports leagues to drop Native American imagery. The Cleveland franchise of Major League Baseball adopted a new nickname.
Information from The Associated Press was included in the report.
