Washington Football Team executive said team was never close to selecting new name

The Washington Football Team name was announced for a reason

Dan Snyder picked a heck of a time to unveil his “new team name.” As the NHL unveiled their 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken, ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped the bomb that Snyder’s squad will be temporarily be known as the Washington Football Team for the entirety of the 2020 season.

Even with names like the Red Wolves and Red Tails picking up steam on social media, Snyder and company punted on officially rebranding. Terry Bateman, Washington’s Football Team recently-hired executive vice president, revealed the obvious: the organization was never close to selecting a new name.

The Washington Football Team announcement was a huge letdown

While Washington’s new moniker is boring and unoriginal, there was a reason for it. The organization couldn’t use a variety of favored names due to a variety of trademark discrepancies.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the trademark battle, finding a new name prior to the start of the first week of the regular season wasn’t attainable for the club. So, they chose the Washington Football Team, albeit for one season.

Washington effectively removed the racially insensitive logo off the uniform and helmets, and will instead feature the player numbers on the latter. The burgundy and yellow color scheme will remain for the NFC East squad. Additionally, official Washington Football Team apparel will be made available in the coming days via Fanatics.com and NFL Shop.

Even if the new name is a dud, undergoing a rebrand less than two months before the NFL season and days before the start of training camp just wasn’t a feasible option for Bateman and the rest of the organization.

Until then, hail to the Washington Football Team? It’ll do for now.