NFL's AFC & NFC Logos

[Quillz]

The logos that represent the AFC and NFC have been in use since 1970, but I've often wondered why they haven't been updated since then. The AFC logo, for example, has six stars that I believe represent the six founding AFL franchises. The NFC logo features three stars that represent the three former divisions of the NFL: Eastern, Central and Western. When the NFL restructured the two conferences in 2002, why didn't the NFC logo receive a fourth star?

Is there any reason why these logos have never change? Just tradition and nothing more?

[ESTONES6]

i think they are fine the way they are. I'm such a sucker for classic/vintage/throwback whatever charming expression people use these days. If anything, they could use an update. nothing big just something subtle.

[illwauk]

Honestly, I think it's because the AFC logo looks good with 6 and the NFC logo looks good with 3.

I've heard tons of stories behind both of them such as the AFC logo is supposed to resemble the original AFL logo. If true, the 6 stars wouldn't make too much sense (IMO) since the league actually started play with 8 teams and one of the "original six" (Minnesota) folded before the inaugural season so they could join the NFL instead.

And if the NFC logo did have 3 stars for the 3 divisions, wouldn't it make sense for the AFC logo to just have 3 as well? And wouldn't it make just as much sense to keep it as three since that's how many divisions they had when the conference was founded in 1970?

[andrewharrington]

Personally, I think keeping the awesome, thick letterforms, but surrounding each one with a circle of 16 stars would be amazing.

[andrewharrington]

Like this:

[JayJaxon]

That actually looks pretty cool.

[CJworks]

Eh, when you change the logo like that, it leaves too much negative space within the stars. Don't get me wrong, there's no other way possible that idea could look better than how you've rendered it. But unfortunately, I'm not too sure that I'm liking it.

[LEWJ]

Those look very nice. Simple, yet effective.

And they keep the general look of the classic logos.

[Spammy]

Like this:

That is pretty amazing. I could see them using that

[CDixonDesign]

Sometimes negative space can work well to your advantage, using the 16 stars ia a very workable option...looks great...

[BBTV]

Like this:

so would there be an invisible white circle behind these logos so that they could be used on dark things? IMO that's the problem with logos that have "floating" elements - they look great on their native background, but look like patches when used anywhere else.

[steelymcbeam]

if the chiefs were to make the super bowl, how would they but the afc logo in the endzone since it is red and the chiefs endzone would be red,(even though it was yellow in their previous 2 super bowls)

[Cujo]

Like this:

A definite upgrade from what's currently being used. However, I think you could almost do without 'AMERICAN' and 'NATIONAL' in the logos. Regardless, this idea is great thought.

[CJworks]

if the chiefs were to make the super bowl, how would they but the afc logo in the endzone since it is red and the chiefs endzone would be red,(even though it was yellow in their previous 2 super bowls)

I'm just throwning this out there... maybe make the AFC logo white on a red endzone? I know, crazy idea, right?...

[1stDownCreative]

i thought the same thing... i did this back when the new shield/font came out

[andrewharrington]

i thought the same thing... i did this back when the new shield/font came out

I like those a lot. Could be seen as redundant because the NFL shield already includes a star for each division. Still an attractive system.

so would there be an invisible white circle behind these logos so that they could be used on dark things? IMO that's the problem with logos that have "floating" elements - they look great on their native background, but look like patches when used anywhere else.

I actually prefer reversing the logo to white when it's on a dark background, which solves the problem for a team like the chiefs, steelymcbeam. It's a little nicer and more versatile that way if you ask me. I'd also probably remove the text from the logos at smaller scales, which addresses DirtyCurty's comment. Having an alternate version with just the A/N and stars would be nice.

As it stands currently, the AFC logo can be used in classic red or any team color (except hues of blue) of which there is also a keyline version. It can also be reversed to white for use on a dark background. The same goes for the NFC logo, except it can never appear in any hue of red. Pretty solid set of guidelines that could be applied to this logo as well.

[Quillz]

Here's my own (admittedly terrible) attempt at "updating" the AFC/NFC logos. I dropped the stars entirely and basically just create a thick outline around the letters. I tried to do something a la the Falcons, Cardinals, etc: take what already existed and just update it ever so slightly. Let me know what you think of this 1-minute Illustrator job:

I also changed the colors slightly, so that they match the red and blue hues used on the newer NFL shield logo.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Like this:

A definite upgrade from what's currently being used. However, I think you could almost do without 'AMERICAN' and 'NATIONAL' in the logos. Regardless, this idea is great thought.

I really like the AFC & NFC re-renditions w/the 16 stars surrounding each letter. The one thing I'd like to see too is perhaps placing 4 white stars inside the "A" and 4 white stars inside the "N", representing the 4 divisions. Looks terrific to me though. Perhaps too, instead of having the 16 stars in a circle, form them instead in the shape of a football. I'd be curious to see how that looks. Maybe I'll play around w/that in paint and try to post on here later.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Here's what I did in MS Paint. I tried the stars in a football pattern, but it didn't look good.

Here are the same logos just with 4 white stars added inside the "A" and the "N", representing the 4 divisions...

[Quillz]

Here's what I did in MS Paint. I tried the stars in a football pattern, but it didn't look good.

Here are the same logos just with 4 white stars added inside the "A" and the "N", representing the 4 divisions...

I'd line up the stars in the "N," since that would look quite a bit better than just having four random stars inside the letter, as you kind of have right now.