(Reuters) – The NFL’s Washington franchise will be known as the “Washington Football Team” through the 2020 season, the club said on Thursday, as it chooses a new name and logo.
The franchise announced earlier this month that it would drop the team name “Redskins,” widely perceived to be a slur against Native Americans, from its name after 87 years amid a widespread reckoning over racism in the United States.
The club said it would go by “Washington Football Team” while it weighs its future identity, encouraging fans to use the new name “immediately,” with the team’s season set to begin on Sept. 13 against division rival Philadelphia Eagles.
“The decision to use ‘Washington Football Team’ for this season allows the franchise the ability to undertake an in-depth branding process,” the team said in a statement.
“Starting tomorrow and over the next 50 days, we will begin the process of retiring all Redskins branding from team properties.”
Fans will be able to purchase merchandise with the name “Washington Football Team” on it in the coming days, the team said, as it unveiled new player uniforms including helmets scrubbed of the team’s old logo.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
