FedEx reportedly informs Redskins it plans to remove signage from stadium if team's name isn't changed

A general view of the helmets of the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles after the game at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(Image credit: Getty Images)

FedEx is threatening to remove its signage from the Washington Redskins' stadium unless the team's name is changed, The Washington Post reports.

The shipping company, which owns the naming rights to the Washington Redskins' stadium under a more than $200 million deal signed in 1999, recently announced it was asking the team to change its controversial name, and the Post is now reporting that FedEx informed the Redskins in a private letter that unless it does so, "it will remove its signage from the stadium after the NFL's 2020 season, six years before the deal's expiration."

This was reportedly communicated in a letter from FedEx's general counsel sent on July 2, the same day the statement saying that FedEx was requesting a name change was released. The company privately described how the Redskins' name, which has long been criticized as racist, "poses the risk of harming FedEx's brand reputation and is inconsistent with its commitment to a more inclusive society," the Post writes.

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Following FedEx's initial statement that it was requesting the name be changed, the Redskins announced it would begin a "thorough review." In the days since, Redskins merchandise has been pulled from Amazon, as well as Walmart, Target, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.