NEW YORK — This season’s Super Bowl logo will look very different from its predecessors as the NFL ditches the Roman numerals in favor of standard Arabic numerals.
The new logo will read: Super Bowl 50.
The decision to drop the traditional Roman numerals was described by the NFL as a way to “elevate and celebrate the historic” 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl.
Additionally, the Roman numeral for 50 is “L,” which would have made the logo: Super Bowl L.
While the league is busy promoting the new logo and the anniversary, players don’t seem fazed by the change.
“We haven’t heard feedback from players about the logo,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told CNNMoney. “They are laser focused on getting to the game that features the Super Bowl 50 logo. They are not concerned with whether the logo features elements of the Arabic or Roman numeral systems or was simply a happy face emoji.”
Super Bowl 50 will be played Sunday, February 7, 2016 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Technically, the first two NFL championship games used the title of “World Championship Game” so the 50th “Super Bowl” would in fact be the one held in 2018. The “Super Bowl I” moniker was used retroactively.
The Roman numerals came along later, for Super Bowl V in January 1971 when the Baltimore Colts beat the Dallas Cowboys.
National and regional logos for the game were released in June and feature the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the center with the numbers 5 and 0 on either side. The 50 is written in gold instead of the traditional silver to reflect “the preeminence of the Super Bowl,” according to the NFL. The gold, a traditional symbol of 50th anniversaries, also “reflects the host region’s historic Gold Rush,” and California’s nickname of the “Golden State.”
During the season, stadiums will feature gold 50-yard lines to further commemorate the significant milestone.
According to the NFL, Roman numerals will again be used for Super Bowl LI in 2017.
