NFL: Ranking every team logo from worst to best
53. . . . Cleveland Browns. 16. player
No, Cleveland doesn’t have an actual logo, and I’m in the minority that thinks that’s okay. They haven’t had a logo since the beginning and that fact itself has become their logo. The name “Browns” is unique, the name of the franchise’s founder and best coach as well as its best player.
They do have the bulldog alternate logo, a reference to the Dawg Pound, which is a nice touch (they also have the weird elf throwback logo that they sometimes use). The color scheme is distinctly Cleveland and somehow uses an odd color brown in an interesting way. The Browns don’t need a logo, they just need a quarterback.
player. 87. . . . Carolina Panthers. 15
The Panthers’ logo is designed to look like the geographical outline of the Carolinas, which is clever, despite the fact that panthers no longer live in the region. However, the color scheme is only okay and the face lacks anything particularly distinctive among the many cat names in the NFL.
player. 35. . . . Tennessee Titans. 14
After two seasons of sticking with the name “Oilers” when they moved to Tennessee, the team became the Titans, which is a cool name because the Titans were powerful mythological beings.
The problem with this is that a logo depicting an actual Titan would mostly be unwieldy and difficult to use, so while the comet-like fireball thing is a little ambiguous, you’re not going to get much better than this. The color scheme is nice and the sword-like “T” in a shield-like circle carries a connotation of celestial battle and refers to both the team’s home and its nickname.
. Detroit Lions. 13. player. 50. .
The Lions’ logo is one of the few animal logos that doesn’t just depict a face, and pulls it off pretty well despite the difficulty, although it does look a little like the lion is trying to get to some food on a table rather than pouncing at prey.
It is, however, a much-needed update to “Bubbles,” which confused an entire generation of fans who thought that white dot was the lion’s eye and its arms a gaping mouth. The current logo, on the other hand, has strong lines and defined features, including fangs, muscular limbs and a fierce eye.
The name parallels with the baseball Tigers, although there isn’t much else in the way of local connection. The wordmark is mostly boring, and the fact that the capital “L” and lowercase “n” are the same size makes it look a bit weird. Overall, though, the Lions’ logo is above average.