Meet the Commanders, the new name of Washington's football team

After a renaming process that took 18 months and two full NFL seasons, the team formerly known as the Washington Football Team introduced its new nickname on Wednesday: the Commanders.

In an interview on "The Today Show," team president Jason Wright introduced the new name and the logo, which was also shared on social media.

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The Commanders, using their brand new Twitter account @Commanders, released a video that will get fans truly hyped.

At a news conference, Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen spoke about how the name not only reflects the past of the franchise, but will allow him and his teammates to build a new legacy for the future of the team.

New uniforms and helmets were unveiled, as well as some slick varsity jackets bearing the team's new logo.

Fans were on hand for the opening of the team store, which was stocked with tons of Commanders merchandise, and they were pumped.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser weighed in on the name change and gave it her stamp of approval. She also essentially said that she wants the team's next stadium to be located within the DC city limits.

FedEx Field, the current home of the Commanders, is located in Maryland. According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has spoken to the team about building its next stadium in Maryland, and the Virginia legislature has already introduced two bills to tempt the franchise to relocate to Northern Virginia.

Name change a long time coming

The Commanders exist due to the constant pressure exerted on team owner Dan Snyder. For years Snyder vehemently refused to change the name from the Redskins, which had been around for 87 years and was considered by numerous Native American groups to be racist.

In 2020, everything changed. Following nationwide protests against racism and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd, Washington's sponsors, investors, and shareholders united to force Snyder to finally acquiesce.

FedEx, which signed a $205 million deal with Washington in 1999 to gain the naming rights to the stadium, sent a private letter to Snyder in July 2020 "requesting" that he ditch the Redskins as the team's nickname. If he didn't, the company would remove its signage from the stadium after the 2020 season.

That letter was sent around the same time Washington's biggest sponsors, which reportedly included PepsiCo and Nike, received a letter signed by 87 shareholders and investors, urging them to pull their sponsorships unless the team's name changed. Those investors and shareholders were worth over half a trillion dollars.

All of that, along with pressure from lawmakers who could have made it exceedingly difficult for Snyder to eventually move the team's stadium from Maryland to Washington, finally forced Snyder's hand. Mere days after those letters were sent, the team announced that the Redskins name was under review. Less than 10 days later, the team announced that the name and logo would be retired.

Rebrand leaked by franchise legend Joe Theismann

Before Wednesday, there had been some guesses about where the rebrand was headed. Washington franchise legend Joe Theismann silenced all those guesses Monday when he spoke to CBS Sports Radio. He predicted that fans would embrace the Commanders as the team's new nickname — two days before Washington was making the announcement.

"I think the Commanders is a name that is gonna be hopefully one people talk about moving forward," Theismann said. "There were so many different options. Once again, it's trademark infringement. It's getting approval from different people. If you choose a name, is there a group out there that isn't gonna like it? There's so many things you have to consider."

If anyone would know about the team's new name, it would be Theismann. More confirmation arrived Tuesday night, thanks to NBC4 in Washington. Through a window at FedEx Field, its news chopper snagged footage of a Commanders sign or banner.