FedEx said it will yank its signs if Redskins keep name

FedEx, the shipping giant that signed a $205 million stadium naming rights deal with the Washington Redskins in 1999, notified the team in a July 2 letter that, unless the team changes its name, it will remove its signage from the stadium after the NFL’s 2020 season, six years before the deal’s expiration.

The two-page letter, from the general counsel of FedEx to the general counsel at Washington Football Inc. (the corporate name of the Redskins), was emailed the same day FedEx publicly acknowledged in a one-sentence statement that it had communicated its “request” that the team change its name.

The private letter is more detailed and pointed.

It noted that the team’s name, which it never cited, poses the risk of harming FedEx’s brand reputation and is inconsistent with its commitment to a more inclusive society.

The contents of the FedEx letter were summarized for the Washington Post by a person who had read it but was not authorized to share it or speak publicly about it.

The FedEx letter and the company’s public statement set in motion the fast-moving events that appear to have forced team owner Daniel Snyder’s hand, spelling out in stark relief the dire economics consequence he will face unless he relents on a team name that dictionaries defined as a racial slur.

In short: If Snyder keeps the name, which he vowed in 2013 he would never change, he faces an exodus of the team’s major sponsors.