It is January 2026, and if you're like me, you’re already looking at the Super Bowl LX logo and trying to figure out if the redwoods and Golden Gate Bridge silhouettes are actually a secret message about who's going to the big game. Honestly, we do this every year. It’s a ritual. But if you look at super bowl logos over the years, you’ll realize that for about a decade, things got really, really boring. Like, "corporate spreadsheet" boring.
We’ve moved through some wild eras. We went from the "Wait, is that ClipArt?" vibes of the 70s to the "Everything must be a shiny silver trophy" era of the 2010s. Now, thankfully, we’re back to actually seeing some color.
The Wild West of the 70s and 80s
Back in the day, the logos were sort of just... there. The first few weren't even called the "Super Bowl" officially until Lamar Hunt basically forced the name into existence.
Super Bowl I through IV? They were retroactively named. The logos were simple. Think blocky fonts and basic red, white, and blue. By the time we hit the 80s, the NFL realized they could actually sell shirts with these things.
- Super Bowl XV (1981): This was the first one to really feel like a "brand." It was prominently displayed at the 35-yard lines.
- The Patriotic Era (1983–1993): For ten years, the league basically just rotated the same three colors. Red. White. Blue. It was fine, but it didn't tell you where the game was. If you were in Tampa or Pasadena, the logo didn't care.
When things actually got cool (The Custom Era)
In 1994, someone at the NFL finally had an epiphany. They were in Georgia for Super Bowl XXVIII, and they put a peach right in the middle of the logo.
Groundbreaking, right?
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This kicked off what most fans consider the "Golden Age" of super bowl logos over the years. Every year was a surprise. You had the southwest turquoise and orange for Arizona (Super Bowl XXX), and the iconic Mardi Gras mask for New Orleans (Super Bowl XXXI). You could look at a logo and instantly know if the game was in San Diego or Miami. It felt like a souvenir, not a corporate memo.
The "Dark Ages" of the Silver Template
Then 2011 happened. Super Bowl XLV.
The NFL decided they needed "prestige." According to former CMO Mark Waller, they wanted a permanent icon that looked like the Olympic rings. So, they hired Landor Associates and created a template.
For the next several years, every single logo was just a silver Vince Lombardi Trophy sitting on top of a silver stadium with silver Roman numerals.
It was miserable. Fans hated it.
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I remember looking at the logos for XLV, XLVI, and XLVII and honestly forgetting which was which. They were indistinguishable on a phone screen. The only tiny bit of variety came with Super Bowl 50 in 2016. The league briefly panicked because the Roman numeral for 50 is just "L." Nobody wants to play in "Super Bowl L." So, they switched to Arabic numerals and added some gold to celebrate the 50th anniversary. But even then, it was still mostly that same rigid template.
The Modern Pivot: Bringing back the soul
Lately, things have taken a turn for the better. The NFL finally listened (sort of). Starting with Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, they kept the trophy but started "painting" the Roman numerals with local flavor.
We saw palm trees and sunsets for LA. We saw desert rock formations for Arizona.
But the real shift happened with Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. For the first time ever, the NFL collaborated with a local artist, "Queen" Tahj Williams. She’s a queen of a Black Masking Indian tribe, and she literally built the logo design using beads. It has these incredible red and green fleur-de-lis patterns that look like the ironwork you see in the French Quarter.
Why the "Conspiracy Theories" started
You've probably seen the TikToks. People started noticing that the colors in the logo often matched the teams that ended up in the Super Bowl.
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- LVI: Orange and Yellow (Bengals vs. Rams).
- LVII: Red and Green (Chiefs vs. Eagles).
- LVIII: Red and Purple (Chiefs vs. Ravens... wait, the Ravens lost).
The "Logo Conspiracy" basically says the NFL scripts the season and leaks the script via the logo colors. NFL creative director Alex Mount has laughed this off, pointing out that these logos are designed two years in advance. But hey, it makes for great Twitter drama.
Looking ahead to Super Bowl LX
As we head toward the 2026 game at Levi's Stadium, the Super Bowl LX logo has officially embraced the "California Legacy" vibe. It’s got the CMYK color palette, featuring the San Francisco skyline and those deep redwood silhouettes. It feels much more like the creative era of the 90s than the boring silver era of the 2010s.
What you should look for in future logos
If you’re a design nerd or just a casual fan, keep an eye on the "infills." The NFL has clearly moved away from the "Chrome Trophy" being the only focus. They are now using the Roman numerals as windows into the host city's culture.
- Check for local artist collaborations (a trend that started with Tahj Williams).
- Look at the "secondary" colors—the league is moving away from just red and blue.
- Watch the fonts; they’ve become much more streamlined to be readable on tiny smartwatch and phone screens.
To really appreciate the evolution, you have to see the transition from the 1967 block letters to the 2026 Bay Area tribute. We’ve come a long way from just putting "Super Bowl" on a shield and calling it a day. The logo is now a piece of the city's identity for that one week in February.
To stay ahead of the next design shift, pay attention to the official unveiling which usually happens the day after the previous Super Bowl ends. That’s when the "conspiracy" hunters and the design critics start their work.