There is nothing more iconic than an NFL logo. Each team with its own specific color scheme, look, trademarked style, and feel, and during football season, you see fans dawning their favorite team’s patch everywhere. With 32 different logos to look at and analyze, some older than others, let’s take a closer look at which team’s logo is the oldest in the NFL and is still being used today.
When Was the Oldest NFL Team Logo Created?
Despite many teams having a deep-rooted history that would make you think they could boast the oldest logo in the league, such as the Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears, it is actually neither of the two that hold the spot. The Arizona Cardinals currently have the oldest NFL logo still in use today as the Cardinals logo as we know it was made in 1901 by then-owner Chris O’Brien and has remained untouched ever since.
Interestingly enough, the logo didn’t come first for the Cardinals and the fact is that the jersey color combination for the team was set in stone before the name was. The logo and name were spurred by the color of their ‘cardinal red” uniforms and from there on, O’Brien went on to create the now-famous and long-lasting Cardinals logo.
The Cardinals have gone on to tweak and outright change their overall uniform and look over several times over the years, including this season, however, the one thing that remains untouched is the traditional logo we have all known for a century.
The Cardinals Logo Remains Throughout the Years
The second longest-tenured unchanged logo in the NFL is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers logo is iconic and one that often conjures up memories of the NFL’s older days, it was created in 1962 and has remained unchanged over the last 61 years which is over 40 years short compared to the Cardinals logo.
The next closest in tenure still in use after the Cardinals and Steelers, is the New Orleans Saints logo that was created and has been unaltered since 1967.
With a considerable gap in years between the three historic franchises, all of which have a globally recognized brand that we see fans wearing proudly year-round, it allows you to step back and admire as you can truly see just how rare it is for the Cardinals to have set their logo and left it alone for over 100 years.