Some are iconic. Some are hot garbage.
The trade winds have stopped blowing. Rosters are fat and, for now, intact. After a long season and intense run through free agency and the draft, we’ve arrived at the NFL’s doldrums.
That means it’s time for subjective arguments about things that do not matter. Recently, that’s covered jersey designs and alternate helmets. Today, we’re diving into helmet logos.
A proper logo should be iconic and capable of withstanding the eroding forces of time. The best ones will be immediately recognizable in old NFL Films productions and, in slightly altered form, on the uniforms of local high schools across the country. The worst will stick around for a while, ushered out with a big offseason reveal, then brought back decades later in hopes the years have softened our stance on a logo that was far ahead of its time or, possibly, well behind.
Fortunately, there are few helmet designs that qualify as anything worse than mediocre. The vast majority of this ranking comes down to separating the “good” from the “pretty good.” Almost everything outside the bottom three is a pretty solid look; it just so happens that solid can’t compete with long lasting icons that have gone on to transcend the game.
Unlike our last logo ranking, this one will take into account how that logo (or, in the Cleveland Browns’ case, lack thereof) flows with the helmet itself. And remember, this is all subjective and judged by a one-man panel composed solely of Rhode Island dads with awful taste. Please note that any ranking you disagree with is one I made entirely out of spite for you and your favorite team.
