The New Orleans Saints have played in the NFC South since 2002. Before the realignment, they used to play in the NFC West. Their raucous fans make Caesars Superdome one of the toughest stadiums to play in for opposing teams. They have won seven NFC South titles which are the most in the division. The team has won one Super Bowl since coming into the league in 1967. Let’s divulge further into how the team got its name and logo.
The Evolution of the New Orleans Saints Logo
New Orleans was awarded a football franchise on November 1, 1966. That day is celebrated as All Saints’ Day and thus the team named Saints came into existence. New Orleans has had the same basic logo since their establishment with some minor tweaks. The emblem is of fleur-de-lis which means lily flower. Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of Louisiana, the state in which the team is based.
1967 - 1999 - Old Logo
The first fleur-de-lis logo was pitch black in color highlighted by a thin black and white outline. This emblem represented French history and the style of the symbol had some similarities to the royal houses of France.
2000 - 2001 - Second Logo
The base color of fleur-de-lis changed to old gold. The outlines increased to three with a black/white/black combination and got more broader. The logo also looked like a more modernized version of the previous emblem.
2002 - 2011 - Third Logo
The only change was made to the primary color of the emblem. The old gold used in the logo was of a lighter shade than the last version and a platinum touch was added.
2012 - 2016 - Fourth Logo
The color of fleur-de-lis got toned down to a very light shade of gold and nothing else was changed.
2017 - Present - Current Logo
The color palette got very slightly changed. The old gold was just a tad bit darker than the previous and it’s difficult to see the difference with the naked eye.
New Orleans Saints Alternative Symbols
The Shield Logo
This logo was introduced in the inaugural season of the franchise as an alternate logo. It had a shield design with a white ‘SAINTS’ wordmark written at the top on a black background while black fleur-de-lis was at the bottom on an old gold background. It was used until 1984.
Sir Saint Logo
In this design, a person wearing a Saints helmet is standing with a shield in one hand and a football in the other. The shield is the same as the previous version with a white and black outline along with ‘SAINTS’ written in gold. This logo was used from 1967 till 1984 and was revived once again in 2009 in a darker shade of gold.
Louisiana State Logo
This emblem which was first introduced in 1985 has a map of Louisiana State in bright gold with white fleur-de-lis at the top and a white star at the bottom. The whole map was outlined by a thick black line. This logo is still used with different shades of gold and a black star is used along with fleur de lis of the same color. The only thing added in further years was a SAINTS wordmark on the map.
New Orleans Saints Anniversary Emblems
1991
The team celebrated its 25th anniversary with a round golden emblem which had black fleur-de-lis on it along with ‘25’ pasted on it in white.
1996
The 30th-anniversary logo has an oblong shape with a gold and black color palette. ‘30’ is written in the middle with a crown above it and the Saints logo below it.
2016
A modernized emblem was made to celebrate the team's golden jubilee. The logo is round in shape with ‘50’ written inside it. The color palette consists of black and platinum gold with 50 painted in white. Fleur-de-lis is present inside 0.
New Orleans Saints Helmet Design
The New Orleans Saints have only used three different types of helmets in the franchise's existence. The Saints have only used one logo on their helmet ever since their inaugural season.
1967 - 1975
The original helmet had a very dark gold base with black/white/black lines running through the middle. The first black fleur-de-lis emblem is located on both sides of the headgear.
1976 - 1999
The primary color palette was changed to a lighter shade of gold. Everything else remained untouched.
2000 - Present
Since the start of the 21st century, New Orleans has changed their helmet’s base color to platinum gold (also referred to as old gold). The logo on the helmet also got modernized with black outlines added to the fleur-de-lis.
Alternate Helmets
The team has only used one alternate helmet since 1967.
2022
After the NFL lifted its ban on using only one helmet for the whole season, the Saints were one of the many teams to introduce new helmets into their rotation. The alternate version saw the team use black as the primary color on the helmet for the first time. The fleur-de-lis is gold in color with a white outline. There are also many small fleur-de-lis in a tapering pattern running down the middle.
New Orleans Saints Uniform History
The primary home jersey contains a black base with gold numbers on it. The numbers have a thin white outline while the collar is gold in color. The shoulder sleeves have fleur-de-lis on it. In the first three decades of its existence, the numbers were white in color with a golden outline. The sleeves also had gold and black stripes before the mid-90s. The away jerseys have always remained the same. The jersey is white with black number fonts and a black collar. New Orleans uses three pants in their rotation: gold, black and white.
Alternate Uniforms
2002
The team’s first-ever alternate uniform had a light gold jersey which looked like cream. It had black numbers on it with a white outline. It only remained in the team’s rotation for 1 year.
2016 - 2022
This color rush jersey is a replica of 1975. The all-white uniform has a white jersey with gold numbers on it which are outlined in black. The sleeves have double black and gold stripes on them. The white pants have black/gold/black lines running on both sides.
FAQ's On “New Orleans Saints” Logo History
A. The New Orleans Saints are owned by Gayle Benson.
A. The Saints logo is a French symbol called fleur de lis, which means flower lily.
A. No, the Saints have never changed the logo on their helmet.
