Team co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder pose for a photograph with the brand new group uniforms throughout the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s identify change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on February 02, 2022 in Landover, Maryland.
Rob Carr | Getty Images
The Washington Football Team formally modified its identify to the Washington Commanders.
The change was revealed by the group’s president, Jason Wright, who appeared on NBC’s “TODAY” program on Wednesday morning. The announcement ends a search that took multiple 12 months after the membership ditched its former identify – the “Redskins” – in July 2020 after company sponsors together with FedEx threatened to tug enterprise. The identify has lengthy been thought-about a racist slur in opposition to Native Americans.
“It’s a reputation that has the burden and which means befitting a 90-year-old franchise,” Wright stated of the Commanders. “It’s one thing that broadly resonated with our followers and its one thing that we consider embodies the values of service and management that basically outline the [District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia area].
An in depth view of a Washington Commanders emblem throughout the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s identify change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on February 02, 2022 in Landover, Maryland.
Rob Carr | Getty Images
“It’s additionally one thing importantly that we might personal, and develop for the following 90 years,” Wright added.
Washington joins the Cleveland Guardians, which had beforehand eliminated logos mimicking Native Americans. The Major League Baseball franchise modified its identify final July – dropping the “Indians” after critics argued it was racist. The Guardians identify goes into impact for the 2022 MLB season.
Wright has stated a brand new group identification would begin the method of accelerating the worth of the membership, which continues to be repairing its picture after office misconduct allegations.
But regardless of a roller-coaster 12 months in 2021, which noticed group proprietor Dan Snyder step away, and the group lacking the playoffs for the seventeenth time in his 23 years of possession, Washington stays the fifth most respected National Football League franchise at $4.2 billion, in line with Forbes.
Wright stated the group thought-about the identify “Wolves” which was a fan favourite, however “logos held by different groups would restrict our means to make the identify our personal,” he wrote in a weblog publish on Jan. 4. “And with out Wolves, variations like Red Wolves would not have been viable both for these and different causes,” he stated.
Shifting the main target to a brand new stadium
With its new identify in place, count on the franchise to press ahead with a brand new stadium to switch the dilapidated FedEx Field, which is situated in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The advanced made the headlines after deteriorating throughout the 2021 season. Issues included a damaged sewer pipe and a railing that collapsed after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 2
An exterior view of FedExField earlier than a recreation between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins at FedExField on October 21, 2018 in Landover, Maryland.
Patrick McDermott | Getty Images
That course of can be led by Wright, the NFL’s first Black group president, and Snyder.
“The clock is ticking on that,” Wright instructed CNBC in August 2020 relating to the brand new advanced. “That is a significant endeavor and an financial driver not only for the membership, however for the complete area.”
The membership’s lease at FedEx Field expires in 2027. It was beforehand all in favour of a brand new 60,000-seat stadium at its previous RFK web site in Washington, D.C, the place the group performed from 1961 to 1996.
The factor is, the U.S. Department of the Interior owns the land RFK occupies. Hence, the group must safe one other lease to function on the property. In addition, the membership would wish to fulfill native D.C. officers. Virginia politicians, together with new Gov. Glenn Youngkin, are pushing to lure the group with a brand new stadium, too.
That could possibly be a neater route for the franchise than the RFK web site, because the group is not the most well-liked sports activities membership on Capitol Hill.
Team co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder pose for a photograph with present group members and alumni throughout the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s identify change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on February 02, 2022 in Landover, Maryland.
Rob Carr | Getty Images
In 2021, Snyder settled a dispute with co-owners, together with FedEx Chairman Fred Smith, when he reportedly paid $875 million to purchase minority shares of the group. Last June, the group named his spouse, Tanya Snyder, as co-CEO. The following month, the NFL fined the group $10 million following an investigation surrounding sexual misconduct allegations.
Dan Snyder then gave up management of the day-to-day operations to concentrate on a brand new stadium.