Seattle Seahawks Logo

Seattle Seahawks LogoSeattle Seahawks Logo PNG

Among the football teams in America, the only one from Seattle is the Seattle Seahawks, whose emblem vividly and accurately reflects the meaning of the name. The mascot on the Seattle Seahawks logo reveals the meaning of the name, demonstrating the club’s main characteristics, striving forward to victory.

Seattle Seahawks: Brand overview

Founded: June 4, 1974
Founder: The Paul Allen Trust
Headquarters:
Renton, Washington, U.S.
Website: seahawks.com

Seattle Seahawks, the only National Football League team based in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, made its debut in 1976 as part of NFC West, but a year later exchanged conferences with Tampa Bay Buccaneers and moved to AFC West. The team appeared in the wake of the NFL expansion during the league’s merger with the American Football League.

June 15, 1972, Seattle Professional Football Inc., managed by Ned Skinner and Herman Sarkowsky, announced their intention to acquire a franchise for Seattle. To speed up the process, executives began building the Kingdome Stadium. The NFL made concessions only two years later – on June 3, 1974. A formal agreement to join the professional league was signed on December 5, 1974.

The group of owners was led by Lloyd W. Nordstrom, who represented the Nordstrom family as owners of a controlling stake. Membership in the NFL cost them $ 16 million. Lloyd died of a heart attack on January 20, 1976, a few days before the Seattle Seahawks’ debut.

In 1975, Seattle Professional Football organized a fan contest to select a name for the club. Fans sent over 20,000 options – of which about 1,700 are unique. The name Seahawks (“Seahawk”) has been proposed 151 times. It is associated with an osprey bird – a fast and agile bird of prey that violently defends its territory. According to CEO John Thompson, this word expresses aggression and is not associated with any other Major League team.

In 1988, Ken Hofmann and Ken Behring bought a franchise, paying $ 178 million. In January 1996, Behring decided to transfer her to Los Angeles – allegedly because of the high threat of earthquakes in Seattle. He had already relocated the office when it turned out that the Seattle Seahawks should play at Kingdome Stadium before 2005. The relocation was disrupted, and the co-owners sold the team. In 1997, it was acquired by Paul Allen – one of the creators of Microsoft. After his death in October 2018, the club became the property of the Estate of Paul Allen.

Meaning and History

Seattle Seahawks Logo History

All Seattle Seahawks emblems are dedicated to the sea hawk. This is an illustration of a ceremonial Native American bird-head transformer mask. At first, the style resembled the aesthetics of the Native American tribes of the northwest coast – such as Tlingit, Chinook, Coast Salish, Haida, and Kwakwaka’wakw. A little later, designers modernized the graphic sign, giving it aggression and dynamics.

What is Seattle Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks is the only NFL franchise to change conferences twice since the merger of the two leagues. It was formed in 1964 when a group of Seattle Professional Football Inc. activists decided that the city needed its professional football team.

1976 – 2001

Seattle Seahawks Logo 1976-2001

When the team debuted at the NFL, its logo depicted a mask of the natives Kwakwaka’wakw. The drawing, like the ritual object, is characterized by symbolic abstraction. The osprey head is turned to the right. It consists of several elements of white, green (“forest green”), and blue (“royal blue”) colors. The bird’s eye is a filled circle; the eyelids are open semicircular stripes; the beak is an arc pointed to the bottom.

2002 – 2011

Seattle Seahawks Logo 2002-2011

On March 1, 2002, NFL Properties artists modernized a primitive logo. They simplified the design, removed the eyelids’ lines, and gave the sea hawk an aggressive look. The pupil is now moved forward; the eyebrow is arched; the beak’s shape is smoother than the original version. The left side of the head is cut at an angle to create the illusion of movement. The palette also changed: blue approached a light tone (“seahawks blue”), and the color of forest green was replaced by dark blue (“seahawks navy”) and lime green.

2012 – today

Seattle Seahawks Logo 2012-Present

Ten years after the redesign, the team again updated the logo. The lower-left corner has turned dark gray (“wolf gray”). This shade was used instead of “seahawks navy,” which completely disappeared from the picture. The emblem, as before, shows the head of an osprey in profile. It symbolizes the desire of a football club for fame and success. The harsh gaze is taken from Egyptian mythology, where hieroglyphs in the form of a falcon are often found.

Font and Colors

Seattle Seahawks emblem

All Seattle Seahawks team emblems depict a sea hawk – and not just, but in the form of a ceremonial mask of the Northwest Indians. According to historical records, it once belonged to the Kwakwaka’wakw locals, who used similar items during their rituals. The logo reflects the cultural heritage of the region and the aesthetics of Native American tribes.

The prototype for the current emblem was the 1976 version. It, in turn, was copied from a real object. In the new millennium, artists at NFL Properties have redesigned to move away from the mask look. The modern interpretation of the osprey’s head seems cartoonish. At the same time, the redesign gave the logo a lack of dynamism and aggression.

Seattle Seahawks symbol

The bird’s eye is a reference to Egyptian mythology. In the Egyptians’ writing, there were hieroglyphs in the shape of a falcon, on which the creators of the emblem decided to focus their attention. The very image of the sea hawk symbolizes the desire for success.

The Seattle Seahawks brand name is unmarked. The lack of original fonts is not very noticeable because the graphic part itself looks unusual. The first version of the logo featured two colors: royal blue and forest green. On March 1, 2002, new shades were replaced: lime green, seahawks navy, and seahawks blue. In 2012, wolf gray was added to the palette, which replaced the seahawks navy.

Seattle Seahawks color codes

College Navy Hex color: #002244
RGB: 0 21 50
CMYK: 100 65 0 60
Pantone: PMS 289 C
Action Green Hex color: #69be28
RGB: 105 190 40
CMYK: 57 0 84 0
Pantone: PMS 368 C
Wolf Grey Hex color: #a5acaf
RGB: 155 161 162
CMYK: 5 0 0 30
Pantone: PMS 429 C

Where did the Seattle Seahawks logo come from?

The Seattle Seahawks logo is based on an illustration of a ceremonial mask from an Indian tribe. This cultural relic was used during rituals. But the stern look of the bird is a tribute to Egyptian hieroglyphs because, in the writing of the Egyptians, there were pictograms in the shape of an eagle.

Did the Seahawks change their logo?

The Seattle Seahawks changed their logo in 2012, but these changes are not revolutionary. The designers made minor edits to the details – first of all, to the color scheme.

What is the Seattle Seahawks logo?

The football team’s logo features the head of a sea hawk. Moreover, the artists stylized it under the mask of the indigenous population of America – the tribes living on the northwest coast. The drawing consists of wide flowing lines, separated by white voids.

How did the Seattle Seahawks get their name?

The executives of Seattle Professional Football Inc., which won the NFL franchise, decided to entrust the name to the fans. Thousands of people took part in the naming competition and offered more than 20,000 options. The name “Seahawks” was repeated 151 times, and the team owners liked it because it was not associated with other members of the league.