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Things are moving quickly in Washington. The team looks prepared to shed the maligned Redskins name before the start of the regular season.
In a move that is not at all surprising considering the pressure the organization has been getting, sources within the organization have told Pro Football Talk that a name change is imminent.
Eight days after Washington announced that a “thorough review” of the team’s name would occur, PFT has confirmed that a name change for the franchise is “imminent.”
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, owner Daniel Snyder has become committed to changing the name before the start of the season, given the pressure he has faced in recent days.
The pressure Snyder has faced in recent days has included a threat from stadium sponsor FedEx that if the team does not change the name the company will remove their name from the venue following the 2020-2021 season.
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FedEx's CEO Fred Smith, who is a minority owner of the Redskins, along with other minority owners Robert Rothman and Dwight Schar, tried to get Snyder to sell his majority ownership to the group last week, and now are trying to sell their shares of the franchise. Even before FedEx got involved, Nike, the NFL's primary apparel sponsor, pulled all Washington gear from its website.
The public, and more importantly corporate, pressure Snyder has been put under over the past weeks has made something which just a couple of years ago Snyder refused to even consider an almost inevitability. Now with the decision to change the name imminent the next phase is determining what the new name will be.
Various names have been floating around social media, with one, the Redtails, getting major public support. While no indication on potential names have been made by the franchise, they have indicated that they plan to keep the burgundy and gold color pattern the franchise already has.
But as it stands, we won't be seeing the Redskins moniker for even just a single game longer.
