Team president: WFT still in consideration as permanent name originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Washington’s NFL club will play the 2021 season as the ‘Washington Football Team’ once again, but the franchise’s current name could also stick permanently.

Team president Jason Wright told ESPN’s John Keim on Tuesday that “there are a set of folks that have warmed to the Washington Football Team” and that his goal with the rebrand is to have a name that has a connection to the franchise’s storied past.

“Some of the things that are emerging from that are the Washington Football Team has something that ties deeply to our history. It feels like that isn’t jettisoning all the things we have been in the past, whereas something that’s completely new might feel that way,” Wright told Keim.

Washington retired its old name and logo this past July after 87 years. Later that month, the organization announced its temporary name of the ‘Washington Football Team.’

As part of the franchise’s rebranding project, Washington launched the website WashingtonJourney.com this past August with the goal of giving fans a platform to raise their ideas for the team’s new moniker.

On Tuesday, Washington announced it has received over 15,000 submissions from 60 countries and six different continents. Fans will have until April 5 to submit their ideas before the forum closes.

“We set out to make the rebranding of this storied franchise a truly collaborative and inclusive process and, for the thousands of individuals who have contributed so far, we hear you and we thank you,” Wright said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“As we close the process of formal fan submissions, we will continue to engage with the community through various platforms. This is about much more than a name; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to be a meaningful and lasting part of our history.”