A view of Washington Football Team helmets. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

New Washington team name spoiled by glimpses at merchandise

By Adam Stites | Last updated Feb 1, 2022 8:59 PM ET

The Washington Football Team appear set to announce Wednesday that the team will move forward as the Washington Commanders.

A day ahead of the team's official announcement -- which comes 18 months after the team dropped its former nickname -- glimpses inside the team store at FedEx Field spoiled the name change. Among the mounting evidence that the Commanders will be the new team name was a shot from a news helicopter that zoomed in through the team store window to reveal "Commanders" painted on the wall.

#SpoilerAlert: Hail to the #WashingtonCommanders #WashingtonFootball #HailYeah #BREAKING #NFL #washingtonfootballteam pic.twitter.com/ibajnDNHL1
— ʙʀᴀᴅ ꜰʀᴇɪᴛᴀꜱ (@Chopper4Brad) February 2, 2022

Last week, Commanders.com was moved to MarkMonitor, the registrar that the NFL uses for all of their domains. Then on Monday, former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann casually mentioned in an interview that Commanders is a team name that he believes fans will embrace.

Earlier on Tuesday, images on social media showed Washington Commanders merchandise being unboxed.

Washington .

Seems to be our new name. #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/51kRIkDzTn
— Chris Bryant (@HogfarmerChris) February 1, 2022

The last team to change its name without moving cities was the Tennessee Titans, who dropped the moniker Oilers in 1999.

Adam Stites

Adam Stites is a Southern California native who lives in a new state every three months. He’s perennially disappointed by both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona State Sun Devils. His dog is named Ramsey after the best cornerback in the NFL

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