Oakland Raiders Logo PNG
The Oakland Raiders logo reflects change and resilience, while its core meaning remains the same today. The pirate face is the primary symbol for teams from different cities, yet it also conveys the tenacity with which they play.
The Oakland Raiders were established in 1960 as a founding member of the American Football League in Oakland, California. The franchise emerged after a Minneapolis ownership group shifted to the National Football League, leaving an opening that Oakland secured on January 30, 1960. Following the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the team entered the American Football Conference West division.
Initial ownership belonged to Chet Soda. In 1961, F. Wayne Valley and Ed McGah took control. A major shift came in 1966 when Al Davis joined as head coach and general manager. He negotiated a new partnership structure, becoming managing general partner with near-total operational control. Valley exited in 1976 after disagreements over the arrangement.
Despite Davis’s influence, the club remained a limited partnership. In 2005, he acquired the McGah family’s stake and became the majority owner, though he held 67% of the shares at the time of his death. In 2011, Mark Davis and Carol Davis assumed ownership.
The franchise relocated twice, moving to Los Angeles in 1982, returning to Oakland in 1995, and planning a move to Las Vegas in 2020.
The original name “Oakland Seniors” came from a contest run by the Oakland Tribune, but internal preference led to “Raiders,” adopted after nine days. The change reflected a desire for a more motivating identity and practical concerns over the absence of the letter “ñ” in English. Helen A. Davis, who proposed the initial name, received a trip to the Bahamas.
Meaning and History
The key element of the “Raiders” emblem is the pirate’s head. Over the past 60 years, the iconic “Raiders” head has undergone minor changes but has remained largely unchanged. Throughout its NFL history, the franchise has used five logos, three of which have remained virtually unchanged. The official color palette includes black, gray, and white.
What is Oakland Raiders?
The Oakland Raiders were the team’s old name; it is now known as the Las Vegas Raiders. From 1982 to 1994, it was known as the Los Angeles Raiders. In 2020, the franchise moved to Las Vegas, but it was based in Oakland for most of its history.
1960 – 1962 (Oakland Raiders first era)
The franchise that would become the Las Vegas Raiders began in Oakland, which the new American Football League awarded a team on January 30, 1960. A contest determined the team’s name. Oakland Señors, announced on April 5, lasted nine days before the team became the Oakland Raiders on April 14. The Spanish word “señores” translates as “gentlemen,” while the English word “raiders” refers to people who take part in a raid. The new club’s emblem represented its name through the image of a pirate.
Team founder and first owner Chet Soda initiated the first logo’s creation. He asked public relations director Gene Lawrence Perry to find an artist. Perry commissioned a Berkeley artist to draw a man wearing a football helmet and an eye patch. The face was modeled on Randolph Scott, a western star whose square jaw inspired the design.
In the emblem used from 1960 through 1962, the head appeared against a vertically positioned gold football. A thick chin strap accompanied the black helmet. The patch covered the pirate’s right eye (viewer’s left). A few lines defined the nose, mouth, and chin on the white face. Two sabers crossed behind the football, with white blades and black-and-gold hilts.
Gold, black, and white matched the team’s original colors. Rather than spelling out the name, the emblem conveyed it through pirate imagery and football equipment. The helmeted face remained part of the club’s identity even as the border, colors, and lettering changed.
1963 (Oakland Raiders first era)
Al Davis arrived as the Raiders’ head coach and general manager in 1963 and changed the team colors. Silver replaced gold, while black remained. The existing pirate image moved onto a shield, replacing the football.
The new border had a pointed bottom and a raised point at the center of its upper edge. The interior was divided into a black upper section for the name and a silver lower section for the image. Light-colored uppercase sans-serif lettering appeared on two lines. The smaller words “THE OAKLAND” followed the shield’s curve, with a larger “RAIDERS” beneath them.
The pirate’s head, still wearing a black football helmet, remained on the silver background, with two crossed sabers behind it. Their tips extended beyond the shield’s sides.
1964 – 1981 (Oakland Raiders first era)
After the 1964 revision, the Raiders’ emblem became a black shield bearing only the word “RAIDERS.” The reference to Oakland was removed, and the entire interior was filled with black. The club credits Al Davis with revising the shield and pirate portrait. White uppercase Futura Extra Bold lettering ran horizontally above the head. Thick vertical strokes and small interior spaces made the name look dense.
The portrait was enlarged, with creases added near the eye and cheek contours made more defined. The pirate faced the viewer. His left eye was narrowed, while a black patch covered his right. The helmet became silver, with a black stripe running along the top. The hilts of the crossed sabers sat on either side. The blade tips now fit within the shield, leaving the emblem’s outer outline unbroken. White portions of the face and weapons stand out against the dark field, while the silver fill sets the helmet apart from the rest of the design.
The logo’s basic arrangement- a pirate’s head, crossed sabers, and team name- survived three relocations. Minor changes accompanied the club’s 2020 move to Las Vegas.
1982 – 1995 (Los Angeles Raiders)
The black shield represented the Oakland Raiders through the end of the 1981 season. In 1982, the club moved to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Raiders. The team played under that name through the end of the 1994 season. The shield continued to read “RAIDERS,” leaving the new city name outside the primary emblem.
White lettering appeared above the pirate’s head, which wore a silver-gray helmet with a lengthwise dark stripe. Crossed sabers complemented the stern face, their blades contained within the border. The shield’s black field brought the portrait, weapons, and name together, while white and gray areas distinguished them.
1995 – 2020 (Oakland Raiders second era)
The Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 and became the Oakland Raiders once again. The club restored its former name and retained the shield that connected the team to its first years in the city.
The black field, the pirate’s face with an eye patch, and the “RAIDERS” lettering remained the logo’s basis through the 2019 season, which closed the club’s Oakland chapter.
2020 – today (Las Vegas Raiders)
For their 60th season in 2019, the Raiders added an anniversary emblem to the primary shield that referenced different stages of team history. The Al Davis Memorial Torch stood in the middle, with the digits of “60” on either side. Their styling echoed the jersey numbers from 1960. The words “American Football League” around the perimeter recalled the team’s and league’s shared debut year. The dates “1960” and “2019” appeared on ribbons modeled on those found on Raiders championship rings. The familiar shield occupied the lower portion of the anniversary design.
The team entered the following season after moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. The club introduced the Las Vegas Raiders name on January 22, 2020. As with the move to Los Angeles, the 1964 logo’s foundation remained intact. The pirate’s face, eye patch, silver helmet, crossed sabers, and “RAIDERS” lettering stayed in their established positions. The Las Vegas name appeared in separate wordmarks.
The change affected the shield’s outer edge. The white-background version gained a thin black outline, separated from the black interior by a white band. The added line defined the light border’s edge, keeping it from blending into the background.
Font and Colors
The key image of the Oakland Raiders’ emblem is the pirate’s head. It resulted from a creative collaboration between Berkeley artist and actor Randolph Scott, whose face appears on the team’s emblem. Thus, the image represents not an unnamed character but a real person who was incredibly popular in the mid-20th century.
Client Chet Soda developed the emblem under Gene Lawrence Perry’s close watch. The designer created a recognizable raider image, featuring a black eye patch and a football helmet that covers most of the head. Expressive face: special emphasis is placed on the determined chin. On the back, two crossed swords emphasize the character’s occupation. Slightly above is the word “RAIDERS.” All elements sit on a black heraldic shield background.
The inscription looks standard, though the designers adapted the font specifically for the Oakland Raiders. The bold sans-serif font resembles Twentieth Century MT Ultrabold. The colors follow the team’s official palette. The swords, face, and the word “RAIDERS” are white; the football helmet is light gray, and the shield, armband, and small details are black.