The Washington Football Team unlikely to change names next season

The Washington Football Team could begin next season with its temporary name, recently hired team president Jason Wright said.

“There’s a pretty good chance we will be the Washington Football Team next season,” Wright said in the interview, which aired on Tuesday.

In mid-July, Washington’s NFL team announced it would call itself the “Washington Football Team,” effective immediately. It’s a place holder name as it works to figure out a new name to adopt at a later date. On July 13, the team said it would “retire” its old nickname after facing criticism and pressure from sponsors.

“I think next year is fast because of how the brand has to come together through uniforms, through approval processes through the league,” Wright said.

“We could get there quicker, it’s actually pretty hard to get there that quickly because of all the steps that need to happen.”

The team’s name change came after several team sponsors, including FedEx, had threatened to end their partnership with the team. Prior to that, FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo received letters from shareholders and investors challenging them to terminate sponsorships with the franchise unless the change occurred. Nike appeared to remove all Washington gear from its online store soon after.

Washington owner Dan Snyder had previously resisted changing the name. He told USA Today in 2013 to “put it in all caps” that he would never make such a move.

In mid-August, Wright was hired as the team’s president, making him the NFL’s first-ever Black team president.