The Super Bowl LIX logo has been in the works for at least two years—but conspiracy theories over its design run rampant nonetheless. Photo via AP/Aaron M. Sprecher

Super Bowl

A Super Bowl Conspiracy Theory Unwrapped—Was the Matchup Predetermined?

“I love that anyone thinks I have any idea who’s going to win the Super Bowl,” says BU alum Alex Mount, an NFL creative director

If you ask the tin-foil-hatted among us, this year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles was not decided by their playoff victories. The matchup was predetermined by larger forces at play. 

Yes, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ running game has been exceptional this postseason, and yes, the Eagles offensive line essentially has been a huge (historically so) steamroller over every opponent thus far. But for those of us who know the truth—the real truth, not just what they want us to know—this game, between these two teams, was decided long ago. 

Look no further than the Super Bowl LIX logo, which was first presented way back in February 2024. As they are every year, the next year’s Super Bowl logos are unveiled the day after the championship game. The bold LIX of this year’s logo is painted in red and green fleur-de-lis, the pattern an homage to New Orleans, the host city. 

And those colors? That’s red—the main color of the Chiefs, and green—the primary hue for the Eagles. Coincidence? 

It’s impossible to know where this conspiracy chatter started. But one suspect was this November 2023 Tweet posted by @NFL_Memes. 

Those who don’t traffic in conspiracies would argue that it’s all hogwash. They might point out that the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers also use red as a primary color in their mascots and uniforms—or that the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers use green. (We could include the Miami Dolphins in the latter category, too, if you count teal as a shade of green.) 

No, this conspiracy thinking goes deeper. The Super Bowl LVI logo in 2021 was colored orange and yellow—the same year the Cincinnati Bengals (orange) and Los Angeles Rams (yellow) squared off. The next year, Super Bowl LVII featured shades of green and red and came down to a familiar faceoff, Eagles vs. Chiefs. 

The theory seems to lose steam with Super Bowl LVIII, whose logo is dipped in purple (for the Baltimore Ravens, perhaps?) and red (could the 49ers make a championship run?). During the run-up to the Super Bowl, though, the Chiefs upset the Ravens for a second consecutive appearance (and, eventually, title). 

Could it be that the emperor wears no clothes? True sleuths know that the real upset last year was the situationship-turned-relationship between pop superstar Taylor Swift and her football superstar boyfriend, Travis Kelce, a Chiefs star. It only stands to reason, then, that the powers-that-be orchestrated Kelce’s return to the limelight in order to capitalize on the star power of his flame.

Which brings us back to this year, Super Bowl LIX. 

“I love this conspiracy theory,” says Alex Mount (CFA’07), a creative director for the National Football League and part of the team that designs the Super Bowl logos each year. “I love that anyone thinks I have any idea who’s going to win the Super Bowl. I wish I had that much power!” she adds with a laugh. 

These logos, Mount says, are years in the making, literally. Creative teams within the NFL start conceptualizing the graphics, colors, and designs two years in advance. As soon as one game ends, her team is ready to roll out the next one, and a year into the design process for the one thereafter. It’s a big undertaking—artistic teams within the NFL are responsible for a cohesive design across every piece of the Super Bowl juggernaut. That includes everything from the tickets to the logo on the field.

As is tradition, Mount’s team will unveil the logo for next year, Super Bowl LX, on Monday morning, February 10. 

Get your tin-foil hat ready.