Professional sports teams no longer have names. Here’s a big reason why

When it comes to Major League Soccer or the NWSL, many teams have neglected animal mascots or explicit historical references in favor of names like Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United or New York City FC – a nod to famous clubs in Europe and South America like Real Madrid and Manchester United.

One reason for the switch to more generic names is trademark law. As more teams emerge, particularly as interest in women’s sports increases, there are fewer and fewer viable mascot names.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League, formed last year from a merger of rival leagues, played its first season with a roster of teams identified only by their city names. While the new league surveyed fans for recommendations — a common tactic — it found that many of the most popular suggestions had already been accepted, said Amy Scheer, the league’s senior vice president of business operations The Wall Street Journal.

“We do intellectual property in two countries with different laws,” said Scheer, a former executive with the NFL and Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls. “When you go through the process, you feel like, my God, every name is already taken.

However, next season the teams will have more traditional names like Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens.

Essential branding reaches America’s Big Four sports leagues

When the Arizona Coyotes moved from the NHL to Utah, the team’s owners had to buy time and go through a similar process. Currently, the team is playing as the Utah Hockey Club while fans vote on several options put forward by the organization, with “Yeti” reportedly being the leading candidate.

The hockey team’s current branding is somewhat generic for now, and it borrows the “Jazz Bear” used by its NBA counterpart in Salt Lake City as its mascot at home games.

However, the most famous example of a delayed renaming is still the NFL team from Washington. The organization abandoned its eight-decade-long name, the Red Skins, which many Native Americans viewed as a racist epithet.

After two seasons as the Washington Football Team, the franchise finally decided to become “Commanders” in 2022. Many fan-suggested options, such as the “RedWolves,” were met with brand concerns. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians MLB team decided to abandon the longstanding name and instead become the “Guardians,” a local landmark.

Boston’s new women’s soccer team took a different approach, but still found a way to stir up controversy this week. As the team tries to carve out space in a sports scene dominated by the city’s historic men’s teams, it unveiled an advertising campaign that irreverently declared, “There are too many balls in this city.”

The provocative ad enlisted the help of local male sports stars such as former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown. However, the team ended the campaign a day later and apologized after some fans called it transphobic.

“While we had hoped to create a bold and attention-grabbing brand launch campaign, we missed the mark,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday.

For now, however, it seems like the name is here to stay. It’s a significant departure from The Boston Breakers, the city’s previous NWSL franchise, which folded in 2018.