American Football doesn’t need American people, it is in fact the American people who need American Football. This vicious, highly competitive, full-body contact, and brutal sport is watched by nearly 16.5 million TV audiences every single game with the National Football League having jam-packed stadiums with an average attendance of 67,405 fans of the sport. The sport is more than just amusement, in fact, it’s a major economic driver, dishing out over $5 billion to the broader economy in NFL cities and according to Forbes is worth over $91 billion with its league of 32 franchises.
This is why I consider that before we talk about Football Club logos, there is a huge need to establish the fact that just how big NFL and the American Football is and just how important a role it plays in the livelihoods of millions of people across the nation. Only then we can come to understand that a logo for the American Football Club isn’t just any logo that we are talking about. This is a flag, a medal of honor, and an identity that people wear with pride. This is a memento that American people wished to be recognized and familiarized with wherever they go.
The National Football League Consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences of 16 teams each. Let’s take a quick look at some of the best logo designs of the current teams and how they create an impact for audiences and the sport itself.
6 Famous Logos That Are Currently Used by Football Teams
It seems like due to the popularity of the sport and the ability to pull in crowds that boasts millions of people, you find a lot of similarities between logos of the 32 teams that compete in the NFL. For ease of understanding, I have picked the six most popular logos that showcase their divergence in design elements. Hence when you seek out to develop logos for your own team from a renowned logo design service akin to Logozila, you would have a better idea of what you want from them.
Tennessee Titans Logo
The Tennessee Titans logo follows the abstract style. The abstract logo is defined as a recognizable image that is similar to a pictorial logo (discussed later), that has a geometric form and takes the shape of an image that is imbued with subtle messaging. While they work best to condense your brand image into a singular layout, infusing them with hidden meanings transforms your logo into becoming completely unique. The Pepsi logo is a good example as it incorporates various representations including the Earth’s magnetic field, Feng Shui, geodynamics, and much more. In the NFL, teams competing in the AFC such as Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee Titans use abstract logos with each carrying their own subtle meaning. For instance, the Tennessee Titans logo has a white ring of the circle that represents the sun with three stars similar to the ones found on the flag of the State of Tennessee. While the actual logo design cost was not disclosed, it is surprising to note that the Tennessee State logo used by the government of the state cost around $46,000 and was designed by Nashville agency GS&F.
Detroit Lions Logo
The Detroit Lions use an animal based logo. Around 12 out of 32 NFL teams use an animal-based logo where either their whole body or most prominent and distinguishing features becoming the centerpiece for the entire logo. These include the names of Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and so on. These logos are often used to showcase qualities that inspire others such as dexterity, strength, speed, etc. The Detroit Lions logo has evolved ever since the football club was founded in 1934. The first logo that was introduced back in 1935 featured an orange and blue composition that included a lion with its mouth open and football player with rugby ball in his hands. Since 1969, the logo has been redrawn and the blue lion has become an iconic masterpiece.
New York Giants Logo
The New York Giants utilizes a lettermark logo style. Lettermark logos are different in the sense as they are often compared with monogram logos since they usually include brand name initials. Common examples include IBM, CNN, and HP. As for the NFL teams like Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers are the ones who also use the lettermarks style of logo. It is obvious that the New York Giants logo has been quite popular with its italicized font style. The logo has become recognizable to the audiences to the point where it is instantly recognized by the masses.
Las Vegas Raiders’ Logo
Also known as the Oakland Raiders before the team moved to Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Raiders use a mascot style logo. Mascot logos usually center around the main character that is illustrated and embedded into the logo in such a way that it becomes the logo itself. These can be cartoonish rendering or depictions with common examples including the KFC logo and Planter’s Mr. Peanut’s logo. In the NFC you have teams like Minnesota Kings, and New England Patriots that follow a similar rendition. The Las Vegas Raiders’ logo depicts actor Randall Scott, a western actor.
Dallas Cowboys’ Logo
The Dallas Cowboys’ logo is simple in design and uses a pictorial style. The pictorial logos are more like symbols that can, later on, be idolized through garnishing their visibility and the ability to attract attention from the audiences. However, each pictorial logo used today carries its own distinct feel and they have become etched into our minds to the point where we can almost recognize them straight from our memory. Common examples include Twitter’s Blue Bird, Apple’s logo, and Microsoft Windows logo. In the NFC, teams like Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts use a similar design style. The Dallas Cowboys logo is often considered the best logo of all American sports and it seems like a sheriff’s star badge that one wears proudly.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ Logo
The Pittsburgh Steelers logo pays homage to US Steel and utilizes the wordmark style. The Wordmark logotypes are the ones that may end up using the entire brand name or prominent portion of the name into the logo design. Common examples include the likes of Coca-Cola, Google, and Visa. In the NFC, teams like New York Jets utilize a similar theme. To this day the Pittsburgh Steelers logo remains one of the most distinct logos in all of sports history.
Top 3 Suggestions for the Future
The following logos are selected from talented freelance logo designers that you can contact on Fiverr.
This logo is from the creative works of ‘emmykk’, and guess what? They are charging only $10 for this current design or something similar. For an NFL logo, this looks ghastly enough to strike fear into the hearts of opponents.
This logo is brought to you by ‘domadom’ on Fiverr and they are only asking for $10 to get started. The design looks pretty slick and carries depth making it stand out as if it was designed on a 3D panel. Considering the ear we are living in right now, the cyberpunk vibes it is giving off seem relevant for future generations of the sport.
Finally, we have a more rounded off design that is much closer than the previous two that hints closely at the sport itself. This is the genius work of ‘pixeldesigner99’ on Fiverr who can be hired starting at $5 only. The red and white over black contrast really makes the fine edges of the logo look prominent. Overall it’s a pretty neat design.
Final Word
As an ending note, I would just like to recommend that whatever logo design you choose for your American Football club just make sure that it is relatable towards your audiences and carries enough meaning or hidden sentiment that rouse people up. American Football is a sport like no other where at times our emotions take control over our better judgment and people have fallen in love deeply with the sport. As such your final choice for the logo should display the heartfelt connection to the sport and to your local community. Cheers and all the best for your future endeavors!
