Washington Football Team to announce new name Feb. 2

On Feb. 2, the Washington Football Team will announce its new name on NBC’s “Today” show.

In an announcement on the NFL team’s website, team President Jason Wright wrote that they “are in the homestretch of our rebrand journey.”

He said the team name will not be Wolves or RedWolves, early on fan favorites.

“Once we began looking into Wolves, however, we became aware of a notable challenge: Trademarks held by other teams would limit our ability to make the name our own. And without Wolves, variations like RedWolves wouldn’t have been viable either for these and other reasons,” he wrote.

The new name “aligns with our values, carries forth our rich history, represents the region and, most importantly, is inspired and informed by you, our fans,” Wright wrote.

The Ashburn-based team will keep its existing burgundy-and-gold colors. A 7-minute video posted on the team’s Twitter hints at the new name and what the team’s new uniforms and helmets will look like.

𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚎 | @Vistaprint

We've got an update on a popular name option, a sneak peek at the jerseys and a confirmed announcement date pic.twitter.com/IeSnetFebq

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 4, 2022

“I think what’s most important about us naming the team it’s trying to bring everybody together,” former team coach Joe Gibbs said in the video.

In the video, the team’s chief financial officer offers more details about the legal reasons why the name can’t be RedWolves or Wolves.

The Washington Football Team retired the Redskins name and logo in July 2020 under pressure by sponsors and weeks of discussion over what many see as a derogatory name for Native Americans. Then the team announced it would use the interim name “Washington Football Team” while it searched for a new identity.

In May, the team hired Will Misselbrook as its chief creative and digital officer to oversee the team’s brand marketing strategy and develop content for fans and sponsors.