Roman numerals, all-silver, local culture: How Super Bowl logos have changed over 58 years

The Super Bowl's one of the most-watched events every year. Last year's championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles averaged 115.1 million viewers to make the most-watched television show in history. That beat out Super Bowl XLIX for the top spot, which drew 114.4 million viewers in February 2015.

While high viewership remains relatively constant, one part of the title game that's changed in recent years is the Super Bowl logo. Since Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the NFL's updated its graphics for the title game each season. It's even inspired a conspiracy theory about the matchup for the title game.

It's not the first change from the past 58 years, though, just the most recent. Here's a look at the history of Super Bowl logos:

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When did Super Bowl logos begin?

The first Super Bowl on Jan. 15, 1967 didn't have that title to begin with. Instead, it was called the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game," as it featured the AFL's Chiefs taking on the Green Bay Packers. It was called Super Bowl I retroactively, same with Super Bowl II between the Packers and the then-Oakland Raiders.

Lamar Hunt, founder of the AFL and the Dallas Texans (now the Chiefs), came up with the "Super Bowl" title ahead of Super Bowl III between the New York Jets and the then-Baltimore Colts.

The first decades of the Super Bowl featured relatively basic logos using Roman numerals and typically red, white, and blue colors. Some exceptions include Super Bowl IV, VI, VIII, XV, and XVI, which included other colors like gold and purple.

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When did unique Super Bowl logos begin?

The first major change to the Super Bowl logo began in 1987 for Super Bowl XXI between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. That game was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and the logo featured a rose with the name and roman numerals.

The NFL reverted back to red, white, and blue logos for the next five title games. When the Rose Bowl hosted Super Bowl XXVII in 1993, the logo again featured roses again along with the name and roman numerals. That started a new tradition of themed logos incorporating features of the host stadium and city.

Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta, Georgia featured a peach in its logo, a nod to the Peach State.

That continued for the next decade. Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans, Louisiana included Mardi Gras-styled graphics; Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, California included a coastal lighthouse; Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas featured NASA-inspired graphics.

These nods to host city and state history were dropped from Super Bowls XLI to XLIV. Those title games had unique designs but nothing that referenced local culture.

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Super Bowl logos: All-silver and stadium highlights

Logo designs made a significant change ahead of Super Bowl XLV. That title game was the first to be played in the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Instead of a unique logo, the NFL started a new trend of all-silver roman numerals, the Lombardi Trophy, and the Super Bowl name along with an outline of the host stadium's exterior, starting with Cowboys Stadium.

This remained the format for the next four Super Bowls (XLVI-XLIX).

A golden anniversary Super Bowl logo

Super Bowl 50 saw roman numerals dropped for the first time in decades to honor the title game's golden anniversary. It continued the stadium outline theme and the Super Bowl name but used gold numbers.

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Super Bowl logos: Back to basics

Following the golden anniversary, the NFL kept things simple for title games. Super Bowls LI through LV had the Super Bowl title, roman numerals, and the Lombardi Trophy with very slight changes to the coloring.

Themed Super Bowl logos return and a conspiracy

The NFL changed things up for Super Bowl LVI again in a move that harkened back to the themed logos of the 1990s and 2000s. For the title game in Los Angeles, the NFL included colored roman numerals for the first time in 11 years.

The red-, orange-, and yellow-colored numerals of Super Bowl LVI's logo included palm trees in a nod to the southern California setting. A year later, Super Bowl LVII's logo featured red-, purple-, and green-colored numerals incorporating desert rock formations in reference to the host city Phoenix.

A conspiracy took hold ahead of Super Bowl LVIII this season because of the colors used in the logo. Super Bowl LVI's teams were the Los Angeles Rams, who have yellow as a primary color, and the Cincinnati Bengals, who have orange as a primary color. Similarly, Super Bowl LVII's contenders were the Chiefs (red) and Eagles (green).

That theme of teams with the logo's colors nearly continued this season. Super Bowl LVIII's logo of Las Vegas signs and buildings uses purple and red. The NFC title game featured the San Francisco 49ers, who use red as a primary color, and the Detroit Lions, who use blue. The AFC title game featured the Baltimore Ravens, who use purple, and the Chiefs.

Red won out in the end with the 49ers and Chiefs securing the two spots in the title game.

Next year's Super Bowl will be held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. No news yet on the logo but it could include Mardi Gras colors or themes in the roman numerals to continue the trend.

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How to watch 2024 Super Bowl

When: Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada

Cable TV: CBS

Streaming: Paramount+; YouTube TV; Sling; FuboTV

How to watch: Catch the Super Bowl with a Fubo subscription

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl logos' beautiful history over 58 NFL seasons