WASHINGTON

FedEx earlier this month became the first sponsor to announce it had asked the organization to change the name, particularly important because CEO Frederick Smith owns part of the team. FedEx paid $205 million for the longterm naming rights to the team's stadium in Landover, Maryland.

The lease at FedEx Field expires in 2027, and dropping the name keeps open various possibilities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington for the team's new stadium and headquarters. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has said the name was an "obstacle" to Snyder building on the old RFK Stadium site, which is believed to be his preference.

Bowser said she welcomed the name change but there were still obstacles to overcome before the team's return from suburban Maryland became a serious possibility.

"Yes, we want to change the name and change the location," she said. "The Washington football team should be playing in Washington."

At a Dick's Sporting Goods store in the northeast part of the district, Redskins burgundy gear took up far less rack space Monday than that of the reigning MLB champion Nationals and about as much as the NHL's Capitals. A store employee said the merchandise generally doesn't sell very well, crediting that to a combination of the name, the move out of the district and years of professional mediocrity.

MLB's Atlanta Braves and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks have said they have no inclination to make a change. Some advocates would like to see all Native American names, mascots and imagery out of sports.

"Our fight continues," Crystal Echo Hawk of the Native American advocacy group IllumiNative said in a statement. "We will not rest until the offensive use of Native imagery, logos and names are eradicated from professional, collegiate and (other school) sports. The time is now to stand in solidarity and declare that racism will not be tolerated."

Halbritter said it was important to note those other names are not a slur, but he hopes a "broader discussion" can be had. He pointed out that Florida State spoke with the Seminole tribe about its name, the same thing a minor league baseball team in Spokane, Washington, did with local Native Americans.

Long removed from the glory days of winning Super Bowl titles in the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons under coach Joe Gibbs, Washington's NFL team has just

five playoff appearances in 21 years and no postseason victories since 2005. The team has lacked a nationally marketable player since Robert Griffin III's short-lived stardom, and the 2020 schedule features zero prime-time games for a franchise that used to be a draw.

Re-branding with a new name and logo — and perhaps the same burgundy and gold colors — coupled with turning football operations over to Rivera could be a boon for Snyder on and off the field. Even if a segment of the fan base opposes the change in the name of tradition, winning would more than make up for those losses.

Marty Conway, a

Georgetown University adjunct professor of sports marketing and business, said that while the NFL and team could pay tens of millions of dollars to buy back old merchandise, the long-term benefits are more lucrative with a new stadium naming rights deal and other corporate sponsorships.

"It's a huge opportunity, certainly long overdue in terms of the time frame,"

Conway said. "But I think there's sort of an immediate opportunity, which we're seeing play out every day, which is to reposition the franchise and in a step-by-step way away from the roots of its past and consistent with the change in time and social climate."