Honestly, if you look at a Super Bowl logo from 1997 and compare it to one from 2014, it feels like looking at a hand-painted carnival sign next to a corporate bank statement. There was a time when all the Super Bowl logos felt like a celebration of a city. Now? Most of the time, they feel like a celebration of a brand manual.
We've been through decades of these things. Some were psychedelic. Some were undeniably ugly. Others were so boring they basically disappeared from your brain the second the clock hit zero. But there is a reason the NFL moved away from those wild, city-centric designs, and it isn't just because they ran out of ideas.
The Wild West of Roman Numerals
Before everything became "silver and chrome," the NFL basically let designers go nuts. In the early days—roughly 1967 to 1970—the logos weren't even technically "Super Bowl" logos. For Super Bowl I, the branding actually read "First World Championship Game AFL vs NFL." It was blocky, simple, and honestly a bit clunky. It wasn't until Super Bowl IV that the name became official on the posters.
The 70s were a trip. You had Super Bowl V and VII using these futuristic, neon-style fonts that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi movie. Then you had the 80s, where things got very patriotic. The red, white, and blue became the law.
Why the 90s Were the Peak
If you ask any design nerd or die-hard football fan, they’ll tell you the period between 1986 and 2004 was the "Golden Age."
- Super Bowl XXVII (1993): The rose imagery for the Rose Bowl was iconic. Simple but elegant.
- Super Bowl XXXI (1997): New Orleans influence was all over this one. It had personality.
- Super Bowl XXXIII (1999): The "Miami Vice" colors are still a fan favorite today.
During this era, you could look at a logo and know exactly where the game was. If it was in Arizona, you saw the desert. If it was in New Orleans, you saw jazz vibes or a fleur-de-lis. It made each game feel like a unique chapter in history.
The "Corporate Death" of 2011
Everything changed with Super Bowl XLV. This is when the NFL handed the reins to Landor Associates and decided that the Super Bowl needed a "consistent" identity. Basically, they wanted it to be like the Olympic Rings—instantly recognizable regardless of the year.
The result? A decade of silver.
From 2011 to about 2021, the logos were almost identical. They featured the Vince Lombardi Trophy sitting on top of a stadium, with the Roman numerals underneath. It was sterile. Fans hated it. Todd Radom, a legendary sports designer, once called this the "death of the Super Bowl logo." He wasn't wrong. When every logo looks like a chrome hood ornament, they all start to bleed together.
The "Logo Color Theory" Conspiracy
You can't talk about all the Super Bowl logos without mentioning the weirdest thing to happen to NFL Twitter in years: the color conspiracy.
For a few seasons, fans noticed something spooky. The colors used in the Super Bowl logo seemed to predict who would play in the game.
- Super Bowl LVI: The logo had orange and yellow. The Bengals (orange) played the Rams (yellow).
- Super Bowl LVII: The logo was green and red. The Eagles (green) played the Chiefs (red).
- Super Bowl LVIII: The logo featured purple and red. The Ravens were the favorites, but eventually, the 49ers (red) took on the Chiefs (red/yellow).
People actually thought the NFL was "leaking the script" through the branding. It sounds crazy, but when millions of dollars are on the line, people start looking for patterns in everything.
Breaking the Curse: New Orleans and Santa Clara
Thankfully, the NFL seems to have listened to the complaints about things being too "corporate." Starting around Super Bowl LVI, they began re-introducing local elements into the Roman numerals themselves.
For Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans (2025), the league did something truly cool. They worked with a local artist named "Queen" Tahj Williams. She’s a big deal in the Mardi Gras Indian community. The logo used actual beadwork designs and fleur-de-lis patterns that looked like the ironwork balconies in the French Quarter. It felt like New Orleans.
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Then came the Super Bowl LX logo for 2026. This one basically nuked the "color theory" conspiracy. It’s a rainbow. It’s got magenta, cyan, gold, and "International Orange." It features the Golden Gate Bridge and stylized Coastal Redwoods. It’s loud, it’s vibrant, and it’s impossible to use to predict a matchup because it includes every color in the spectrum.
What We Learned from 60 Years of Design
Looking back at all the Super Bowl logos, it’s clear that the NFL is trying to find a middle ground. They want the prestige of the "standardized" look (the trophy and the silver) but they realized that fans crave the soul of the host city.
The "chrome era" was a mistake, but it taught the league that a logo isn't just a trademark—it's a souvenir.
Actionable Insights for Logo Fans
- Check the patches: If you’re a jersey collector, notice how the patches have changed. The older, embroidered patches from the 90s are much more durable and detailed than the modern "heat-pressed" versions.
- Follow the artists: The NFL is starting to credit individual local artists now (like Tahj Williams). Following these artists gives you a much deeper look into the "why" behind the colors and shapes.
- Ignore the "script": Don't place bets based on logo colors. The Super Bowl LX logo has proven the NFL is happy to troll fans who think the "script" is hidden in the branding.
The move back toward artistic flair is a win for everyone. It makes the game feel like an event again, rather than just another Sunday at the office.
Next Steps for You: If you’re interested in the technical side of these designs, you can look up the "Landor Associates" case study on the 2011 redesign to see exactly how they pitched the "silver trophy" concept to the NFL. You can also track the evolution of the "Vince Lombardi Trophy" itself, which didn't actually appear in a Super Bowl logo until Super Bowl XXV (1991), and didn't become a permanent fixture until much later.