Washington Redskins Will Never Change Name: It's the Money, Stupid

Indian Country Today Media Network

In a recent online column, Forbes sports business reporter Tom Van Riper made the case for why Dan Snyder will never change the name of his Washington Pigksins NFL franchise: Money.

Analysis from Brand Keys, a research firm that measures consumer attitudes toward sports teams and athletes, indicates the team enjoys strong fan loyalty that’s based primarily on “history and tradition.” (Related: Before Judging NFL’s Redskins Name, Consider the ‘Racist’ Who Chose It) In other words, Washington fans buy a lot of team-licensed gear, even when the club isn’t successful.

“Meanwhile,” writes, Van Riper, “Forbes assigns copy31 million of the Redskins’ copy.6 billion valuation (making the Pigskins the third most valuable NFL franchise) to its brand strength, behind only the Cowboys and Patriots. … when you’re minting money even in down years, as the Redskins do, you don’t have much interest in trying to find out [how much the team’s name adds to its value]. A fresh round of merchandise sales tied to a new identity isn’t worth the risk.”

All this may, perhaps, be moot: Given the introduced legislation in Congress that would compel Snyder to rename his team, as well as a pending decision in a federal trademark lawsuit against the club, change ultimately may be forced upon the NFL franchise. Snyder appears to be anticipating this.

Read Van Riper’s entire column by clicking here.