Washington Commanders Sell Redskins Merchandise to Maintain Trademark Rights

The Washington Commanders are offering merchandise bearing the Washington Redskins name and logo—the identity the franchise retired in 2020—through their official team shop at Northwest Stadium and their online store. The vintage gear comes exclusively through a Mitchell & Ness throwback collection featuring jerseys and T-shirts of former players who wore the Redskins uniform, including Hall of Famer Art Monk and late safety Sean Taylor.

An Art Monk T-shirt featuring the receiver in his Redskins helmet and uniform, with career statistics on the back, sells for $49.99. A Sean Taylor shirt displaying the defensive back in his old uniform costs the same price. Taylor’s retired No. 21 mesh jersey, complete with the Redskins name and a 75th anniversary patch, is priced at $114.99, though it is marketed as Commanders merchandise despite lacking the team’s current logo.

The Commanders maintain the Redskins trademark in commercial circulation to prevent it from being deemed abandoned under the Lanham Act, according to a club spokesman who spoke with WUSA9 in Washington. Federal trademark law considers marks abandoned if unused for three consecutive years, requiring “bona fide use in the ordinary course of trade” rather than token sales designed solely to preserve rights.

Owner Josh Harris stated in September 2023 that the organization recognized “a portion of our fan base that felt disrespected by the former name,” promising the team would never resurrect the Redskins identity. The franchise has introduced an alternate uniform featuring a spear piercing the W insignia, echoing the feathered arrow helmet design from the 1960s Redskins era.

The decision to retire the name followed decades of debate involving Native American advocacy groups, sponsors, and fans. While some tribal leaders and the Navajo Code Talkers Association have publicly supported retaining the Redskins name and Native imagery, other Indigenous groups have characterized the branding as offensive and racist.