Washington officially changes its team name to ‘Commanders’

The days of the Washington Football Team are behind us. The process of the club finding a new name has been completed, with “Washington Commanders” being announced as the winner.

Thus ends a process that was started back in July 2020, when the team announced that it would review and ultimately change its previous name. After simply being known as the “Football Team” for the last two seasons, the club will permanently label itself the Commanders moving forward.

The change was announced on social media on Wednesday morning:

“As an organization, we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital,” team owner Dan Snyder said in a statement provided by the club.

“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 and 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.”

The franchise also used the opportunity to modify its overall look, introducing a new set of uniforms and new branding.

From a New England Patriots perspective, one thing stands out about Wednesday’s announcement: the Commanders’ helmet design. The team will apparently wear two sets of helmets, further proof that the league will move on from its one-helmet rule that prevented the Patriots from wearing their throwback uniforms since 2013.

As for a potential meeting with the team now known as the Commanders — not to be confused with the Commandos, a Washington-based indoor football team of the late 1980s — that will come no later than the 2023 regular season. New England will play the NFC East that year, hosting the new-look team in what will be a new-look Gillette Stadium.