NFL to revamp shield with redesigned logo

 

By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY

 

NEW YORK ? The National Football League is launching a makeover of its red, white and blue "NFL Shield" logo that adorns everything from player jerseys to fan T-shirts and hats.

 

The league is creating a leaner, meaner version of the iconic logo that will debut at the NFL draft in April, 2008. The revamped shield will be slightly taller and thinner, with a new football, fewer stars and darker colors, says Lisa Baird, the NFL's senior vice president of marketing. The redesign marks the first changes to the shield since 1980.

 

At the NFL's annual meeting this spring, commissioner Roger Goodell talked about the NFL Shield as the "envy of the sports world." The league has been careful to make an "evolutionary, not a radical change," says Baird.

 

?The new shield features eight stars (representing the eight AFC and NFC divisions) vs. 25 on the current logo. Why 25? It's a mystery. After researching the shield's origins, the designers could find no reason for 25 stars, says Jaime Weston, director of brand and creative operations. The shield logo was first used around 1940, two decades after the NFL's founding in 1920.

 

? The football at the center has been redesigned to resemble the ball atop the Vince Lombardi championship trophy, says Baird. It replaces the old-fashioned pigskin nicknamed the "Hamburger" inside league offices.

 

?NFL vendors will probably thank the league for switching to fewer stars. Some vendors, without permission, have used fewer stars rather than shoehorning 25 tiny stars into smaller shields on hats and T-shirts.

 

Tinkering with one of the country's most powerful and ubiquitous sports brands will be a risky and expensive business. NFL sponsors such as Reebok, Riddell, Wilson and EA Sports will have to switch shields on everything from uniforms (players wear three logos at the neck and waistlines and on the helmet) and licensed merchandise to the official "Duke" game ball and Madden video game. Even groundskeepers will have to adopt the new shield at NFL stadiums.

 

But Baird believes the cleaner, more modern symbol will "pop" better during TV telecasts. The less-busy logo will also show up better on "third screens" increasingly used by sports fans: cellphones, laptops, iPods and PDAs.

 

 

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Pros:

-Darker shade of blue

-Sleeker shield

-Fewer stars (

 

Cons:

-The football looks cartoonish

-The font

-The absense of the old font

-The stars represent each division? :| What about one for each conference?

 

Overall = downgrade

 

BTW, the National League logo is the sexiest league logo in American sports.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. DOWNGRADE

Upgrade.

Grade.

If the NFL had a sense of humor, they would cover it with prison bars.

i think its dumb... like someone said above, if it aint broke.... w/e they have their reasons...

Seriously - there's so little difference it will hardly be noticed.

I do like the darker blue

 

whatever not a real big deal imo

Meh. I wonder if it's still gonna say "equipment" on the jersey necks.

The darker shade of blue is a huge plus. The font and shield are improved as well.

 

The stars obviously needed to be updated from the 25 it used to have. Festa, I think 2 large stars (one on either side of the football) would look awkward. It's a better symbol than 8 stars, but I don't know if it would look as nice.

 

New football v. Old football = Push

 

Overall: New Logo looks better IMO.

Meh. I wonder if it's still gonna say "equipment" on the jersey necks.

Yeah, I can't stand that.

Upgrade

who cares?

who cares?

Apparently you.

I don't see a difference either way.