Have the NFL script writers been hinting at this year's Super Bowl matchup all along? That depends on if you believe in the magic of ... colors.
Football conspiracy theorists had a field day this year with the whole "script writing" bonanza. While there could not be anything more random than sports, there are fans out there that truly believe the league is rigged for certain teams to win.
However, there is undoubtedly a trend with the last two Super Bowl logos and its participants, coincidence or not. If the pattern follows into this season, that means we are set up for a 49ers vs. Ravens Super Bowl, which is a very real possibility, considering the two teams are two of the final four standing in the NFL playoffs.
But what exactly is the conspiracy with the Super Bowl colors? And why is it predicting a San Francisco vs. Baltimore rematch? The Sporting News explains.
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Super Bowl 2024 logo conspiracy theory
Fans love a good conspiracy theory — even if it isn't all that true.
Michael Irwin is a former art director for the NFL who oversaw the creation of a number of Super Bowl logos from Super Bowl 51 to Super Bowl 55. While it's a fun idea in theory, these logos are planned out at least two and a half years in advance, making it impossible to be able to predict the two teams competing in the Super Bowl.
"As much as I love the idea of a designer having that much pull on the largest sporting event of the year, yeah [the conspiracy] is not [real]," Irwin said to The Sporting News. "What a flex that would be if it was."
Each year, the NFL changes the Super Bowl logo, giving a unique design for each championship game. The graphic is revealed ahead of the season, far in advance of the actual big game and before any teams officially begin the hunt for the playoffs.
In early November, the social media account, NFL Memes, posted an intriguing image on X, formerly Twitter. The post had the logos for this year's Super Bowl, as well as the previous two championships, and there is a unique pattern that could be developing
Anyone else notice this? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/edOCyKqEET
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) November 8, 2023
For Super Bowl 56, the colors on the Super Bowl logo were a dark orange and yellow. Who played in that Super Bowl? The Bengals (orange) and the Rams (yellow).
The same thing can be said about Super Bowl 57. The logo was made up of the colors green and red, and it was the Eagles (green) and the Chiefs (red) that ended up fighting for the Lombardi Trophy.
With that trend put in place, fans have pointed out the red and purple colors in the logo for Super Bowl 58. The fact that the 49ers and Ravens have been two of the most consistently dominant teams in the 2023 season certainly has raised some eyebrows, as there is a very real case that the NFL could have a rematch of the Harbaugh Bowl from the 2012 season.
Of course, the 49ers aren't the only team with red as their primary colors. The Chiefs, Cardinals, Falcons and Buccaneers are all candidates to fit the conspiracy theory as well. Of those four teams, only Kansas City remains in the hunt.
The same can be said about purple, with the Vikings also fitting into the same category as the Ravens. The Vikings failed to reach the postseason, however.
"Everyone's talking about it and it's such a cool, fun, tongue in cheek thing leading up to the Super Bowl with designer talk," Irwin said. "It's gone everywhere and it's been really cool to chat about, 'What if it was?'"
So if you're one to read way too much into conspiracy theories and completely random patterns, perhaps throw some dough on the 49ers and Ravens to win their respective conferences. It won't be long before NFL fanatics will see if the colors are telling the truth.
Why is the Super Bowl logo purple and red?
There is no specific reason as to why the NFL created its logo with purple and red this season.
Since Super Bowl 56, the NFL decided to add additional colors to the logo of the game. Previously, it was just the Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl roman numerals in grey, with a different color on the bottom.
MORE: Three reasons why the remaining playoff teams can win Super Bowl 58
Since the change, conspiracy theorists have been running wild with the mindset that the color scheme predicts the Super Bowl participants — but that's not the case.
Irwin explained that the color schemes typically have more to do with the host city and venue rather than any potential participants.
"We tried things that they have [since] perfected and shifted more towards now," Irwin said. "It's really cool to see because part of our exploration was, 'What if we put the stadium reflection inside the numerals?' ... 'What if we put mountains or the ocean in there.'
"Color has definitely defined these logos a lot more ... I think at the end of the day, it brings more life to the logo."
When was the Super Bowl logo released?
The NFL did not waste any time releasing the logo for Super Bowl 58.
The day after the Chiefs defeated the Eagles at Super Bowl 57 in February of 2023, the league revealed the logo for Super Bowl 58. So the design and color scheme was determined well before the start of the 2024 campaign.
The official logo for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas has been revealed 👀🏈
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 13, 2023
📷: @mickakers pic.twitter.com/KpRWvhKdhL
Next year's Super Bowl logo
The logo for Super Bowl 59 has yet to be officially revealed by the league. It likely won't be shown until after the conclusion of this year's postseason.
However, this leaked logo has been making the rounds, and could be the basics of next year's Super Bowl design. The 2025 Super Bowl will be played at Caesar SuperDome in New Orleans, so the added features of the trumpet and the NotCaslon font signify the city and region.
For the last couple of seasons the Super Bowl logo has featured colors of each teams uniform in the design. There are rumors this is the Super Bowl 59 logo 👀
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) January 21, 2024
Are the Eagles going to be in a Kelly Green Super Bowl? pic.twitter.com/9OKLAwAjLA
History of NFL's Super Bowl logos
The Super Bowl logo has undergone a number of changes over the years — both good and bad.
From when the Super Bowl was first introduced in 1967 all the way until 2010, there was a different design every year. While some of the colors and/or fonts became repetitive, no two logos looked the same for the first 40-plus years of the event, with different elements of the host city ingrained into the design.
Then, for Super Bowl 45, the NFL decided to keep it simple — the logo, completely grey/silver, featured the Lombardi Trophy and the roman numerals for the event. The league decided to keep this boring template for the next four championships after, only altering the logo in 2016 for Super Bowl 50.
The league reverted back to the basic grey design for Super Bowl 51, adding a colored trim to the edges of the logo.
"Super Bowl 50 really introduced gold color, and that really spring-boarded it," Irwin said. "Super Bowl 51 was introducing the color more in a subtle way. They didn't want to overtake the logo, but really add some personality back into it."
However, it wasn't until Super Bowl 56 that the design added more color, putting different hues inside the roman numeral to make the logo pop more.
It just so happened that since the change to add those additional colors, the shades have matched up with the Super Bowl participants.
