February 2nd, 2022

In 2020, as a result of George Floyd’s death and the heightened focus on racial justice, the NFL organization is previously known as the Washington Redskins once again faced intense backlash for its insensitive title.

Although the organization had seen the wishes of the public to change the name previously, the updated focus and public disapproval of racial injustice made the revolutionary name change a necessity.

After dropping their controversial nickname in the summer of 2020, and keeping their temporary title of “The Washington Football Team” for two seasons, the organization’s co-owner and co-CEO Daniel Snyder released a statement regarding the new identity.

“As we kick-off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy, and the greats that came before us. We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy & Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington. Today may mark the first day for the Washington Commanders, but we are and always will be Washington.”

As mentioned before, the franchise spent the last two seasons under the temporary but has now officially shifted their entire brand identity through new logos, and new uniforms. More specifically, the main “W” is similar, with a few added elements to deliver a more symmetrical look, while keeping the recognizable colors of Burgandy red and gold. The team also released a vertical type dominated wordmark and an official crest. All can be seen above.

Of course, a new identity for a professional sports team does not only include official logo designs. New on-field uniforms and team merchandise have delivered a drastic change to the previous looks of the organization.

With any change of branding, there will automatically be heavy backlash against the new title. Fans often fall in love with pre-existing identities, or names that have been rumored to be put in place. However, the organization has stated that they believe that this modern identity for Washington encapsulates their city, their culture, and more importantly brings the NFL fandom together, rather than pulling it apart.