Honestly, the whole world was watching when Washington dropped the old moniker in the summer of 2020. It was a frantic, pressurized moment in sports history. Most people expected a disaster. When a billion-dollar NFL franchise has to scrub its entire identity in a matter of weeks, you usually get something that looks like it was designed in a high school basement. But the Washington football team uniform that emerged for that two-year bridge period ended up being one of the cleanest, most respected aesthetics in the league's modern era. It was simple. It was bold. It didn't try too hard.
The look basically stripped away the noise. By removing the controversial logo and replacing it with the player's number on the side of the helmet, the team tapped into a "throwback" vibe that felt both fresh and incredibly old-school. It’s funny how that works. Sometimes, by doing less, you actually end up saying a lot more about the brand's heritage.
Why the numbers on the helmet actually worked
Most NFL teams are obsessed with their logos. They spend millions of dollars on focus groups to decide if a bird’s beak should be angled at 12 or 15 degrees. Washington didn't have that luxury. They had a ticking clock.
The decision to put gold numbers on the burgundy helmets was a direct nod to the "glory years." Specifically, it echoed the look from the 1960s, a time when the team was trying to find its footing under legendary figures like Vince Lombardi. Those numbers weren't just placeholders; they were a signal to the fan base that the core of the team—the burgundy and gold—wasn't going anywhere. It was a masterclass in crisis management through design.
You’ve probably noticed that the font was a simple, blocky collegiate style. No bevels. No shadows. No "speed lines." Just raw, high-contrast gold on a deep matte burgundy. It looked mean on a defensive lineman and sleek on a wide receiver. It felt like "football" in its purest form.
The Burgundy and Gold: A color palette that refuses to die
Colors matter more than names in the NFL. Fans in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area are born into burgundy and gold. It’s in the DNA. When the Washington football team uniform was unveiled for that interim period, the biggest relief for the faithful was the preservation of those specific shades.
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The home jerseys remained a deep, rich burgundy. The white road jerseys featured those iconic burgundy and gold stripes on the sleeves. What made it pop was the consistency. In a league where teams like the Rams or the Falcons were experimenting with gradients and "bone" white, Washington stayed in the pocket. They kept the gold pants for certain matchups, which, if we’re being real, is the only way that uniform truly looks complete.
- The Home Look: Burgundy jersey, gold pants, gold-numbered helmet.
- The Road Look: White jersey, burgundy pants, gold-numbered helmet.
- The "Monochrome" Look: All-burgundy, which the team used for prime-time games.
The all-burgundy look was polarizing. Some purists hated it. They thought it looked like a leotard. But for the younger generation of fans, it felt aggressive and modern. It’s that tension between the old guard and the new school that makes uniform talk so heated on social media.
The transition to the Commanders and the loss of "The Look"
When the team finally rebranded to the Commanders in early 2022, a lot of people were actually sad to see the "Football Team" kits go. It’s a weird thing to say out loud. Who gets nostalgic for a temporary name? But the Washington football team uniform had a dignity that the new Commanders' gear struggled to match right out of the gate.
The Commanders' uniforms introduced things like "Atlantic Black" and a crest on the front of the jersey. They changed the stripe patterns. They tried to create a "brand story." But for many, the 2020-2021 era was the peak of the franchise's visual identity because it was unpretentious. It didn't have a marketing slogan attached to it. It was just a jersey.
Critics often point out that the Commanders' white jersey looks a bit too much like something from a different league. The "Football Team" white jersey, however, was unmistakably Washington. It had the sleeve stripes that dated back decades. It felt connected to the dirt and the grass of RFK Stadium, even though the team had long since moved to Landover.
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Details that most fans missed
If you look closely at the 2020 jerseys, the "Washington" wordmark on the chest was actually quite small. Nike and the NFL usually want that branding to be front and center. But because the name was literally just "Washington Football Team," they kept it understated.
The socks were another point of contention. To get the look right, players had to wear the solid burgundy socks with the white jerseys or the striped socks with the gold pants. When players wore the wrong socks—like all-white "scrunchy" socks—the whole aesthetic fell apart. Uniform enthusiasts call this "equipment failure," and it happened more often than you'd think during those two seasons.
Another thing: the helmet finish. It wasn't quite the high-gloss shine of the 80s, but it wasn't the flat "primer" matte that some teams use now. It was a satin finish. It caught the light under the stadium lamps at FedEx Field in a way that made the burgundy look almost like black cherry. It was a sophisticated touch for a team that was supposed to be in a "temporary" phase.
What you can learn from Washington's "temporary" style
There is a lesson here for anyone interested in branding or sports history. You don't always need a flashy logo to be recognizable. Sometimes, the colors and the typography carry the entire weight of the brand. The Washington football team uniform proved that if you have a strong enough color palette, you can strip everything else away and people will still know exactly who you are.
It also showed that fans value authenticity over "innovation." The moment the team tried to get too clever with the Commanders' redesign, they faced immediate pushback. The "Football Team" era was an accidental experiment in minimalism that the NFL rarely sees.
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If you’re looking to pick up one of these jerseys now, they’ve actually become somewhat of a collector's item. Because they were only produced for two seasons, the "Washington Football Team" branded gear—especially the Nike Limited jerseys with the stitched numbers—is harder to find than the old Redskins gear or the new Commanders stuff. It represents a specific, chaotic, yet strangely dignified slice of D.C. sports history.
Check the secondary markets like eBay or Grailed. Look for the "WFT" shield on the neck. That’s the easiest way to tell the 2020-2021 version apart from the older styles. Most of the authentic jerseys from this era will have the "W" logo on the front, which was the only official branding used during those two years besides the wordmark.
Avoid the knockoffs that have the wrong shade of "gold." Often, cheap replicas use a bright yellow that looks more like the Green Bay Packers. The true Washington gold is deeper, almost like a mustard or a dull metallic. Getting the color right is the difference between looking like a pro and looking like you're wearing a costume.
Focus on the 2020-2021 "WFT" era for the best examples of minimalism in modern pro sports. Look for jerseys with the "W" logo on the collar to ensure authenticity. Stick to the burgundy-on-gold color combination for the most historically accurate representation of the franchise's identity.