Football fans in the nation's capital, say hello to your Washington Commanders. The NFL franchise established in 1932 and known the last two seasons as the Washington Football Team will be known going forward as the Washington Commanders, team officials announced Wednesday. The decision is the latest and most prominent step in a rebranding of the franchise, which announced in July of 2020 that it was "retiring" the previous nickname and logo after many years of protests that it constituted a racial slur against Native Americans. The search for a new nickname has taken many twists and turns over the past 18 months. The Washington Football Team was used as a stop-gap measure for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, with the players' uniform numbers replacing the team logo on their helmets. Owner Daniel Snyder famously told USA TODAY Sports in a 2013 interview, "We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER – you can use caps." However, the call for a new nickname began to gain momentum once major corporate sponsors – including FedEx, which holds naming rights to the team's home stadium – became more vocal in their opposition. And thus, we have the Washington Commanders!