San Francisco 49ers Logo History: Every Change by Year
Posted by JerseyZenith on Oct 26th 2026
- First logo: First logo: a mustached 49er gold miner firing pistols.
- 8 logo changes are listed by year.
- Photos show uniforms and equipment; standalone logo artwork is not reproduced.
- Sources are Wikipedia and team pages; secondary sources are marked.
This guide covers the San Francisco 49ers logo history, year by year, in words and tables. It does not cover the colors, which have their own guide.
San Francisco 49ers logo history by year
The table traces the main logo changes from the first mark to the current one. Dates come from the sources below; where sources disagree we say so.
| Year | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | First logo: a mustached 49er gold miner firing pistols | The mark nods to the 1849 Gold Rush |
| 1960s | Alternate shield crest built from the number 49 | Alternate, not the primary mark |
| 1962 | First version of the current primary logo: an intertwined white SF in a red oval | Introduced with a redesigned helmet |
| 1989 | Black outlining added to the SF on the helmet | |
| 1991 | Prototype logo of stylized "49ers" is dropped within 24 hours | Fans reacted strongly against it |
| 1996 | Helmet oval updated in cardinal red with gold trim | 50th anniversary |
| 2009 | Helmet keeps the stretched-oval SF with a brighter red | |
| 2022 | "49ERS" wordmark returns to the saloon font used from 1972 to 2005 | Team cited fan feedback |
The current 49ers logo
The current 49ers logo is the intertwined SF in a red oval, first used on the helmet in 1962 and refined several times since.
We describe the logo in words and use photographs of uniforms and equipment; standalone logo artwork is not reproduced.
Why the 49ers logo changed
The 49ers have kept the SF mark since 1962. Changes since then have been refinements, such as outlines, trim and shades of red, plus a failed 1991 attempt at a new mark.
49ers logo, helmet and jersey today
In the Nike era the SF appears on the scarlet helmet and the throwbacks bring back the 1994 look. Browse San Francisco 49ers jerseys, the legends jerseys and the 49ers uniform history.
A logo is only part of the uniform. For colors see the 49ers colors guide and for the year-by-year schedule see the 49ers 2026 uniforms guide.
Primary, alternate and commemorative 49ers logos
The 49ers have several kinds of marks. The gold miner is the original mascot-style logo, the shield crest is a 1960s alternate, and anniversary patches such as the 1996 50th and 2016 70th reused older artwork. Only the SF oval changed the helmet.
| Era | Look | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Mustached gold miner firing pistols | Retro art and fan gear |
| 1962–1995 | SF in a red oval, outlined in black from 1989 | 1994 throwback jerseys |
| 1996–present | SF with thicker black borders and shadows; brighter red from 2009 | Current scarlet jerseys |
How we built this 49ers logo timeline
We collected the dates from the sources listed at the bottom, using the team's own pages where they exist and Wikipedia where they do not. Wikipedia is a secondary source, so we flag the entries where it is the only source and where two sources disagree. We left out anything we could not confirm, such as the Broncos' 1960 logo. Standalone logo artwork is not reproduced.
If you spot a date that looks wrong, check the team's own history page first. A logo can change on the helmet in one season and on the jersey in another, so the year here is the first public use, not always the first game.
What a 49ers logo change means when you buy a jersey
Jerseys follow the logo of their era. A current Nike jersey carries the current mark, a throwback carries an older one, and the product page shows which. If you want an older logo on your jersey, look at the throwback jerseys and compare them with the standard home and away styles in the San Francisco 49ers jerseys range.
Shop the 49ers look
Nike jerseys carry the logo on the helmet and the chest in different ways, and a throwback or retro style often shows an older mark. Compare Game and Limited in our tier guide, or browse all throwback jerseys for retro and vintage options.
Other ways to search for the 49ers logo history
Searches such as logo san francisco 49ers, cool san francisco 49ers logos, san francisco 49ers football logo, 49ers san francisco logo, san francisco 49ers old logo, san francisco 49ers new logo and san francisco 49ers original logo lead to the same logo history, so this page covers each of them.
We do not show san francisco 49ers logo images on this page, because team logos are trademarks; the text and tables describe each logo instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the San Francisco 49ers logo?
An intertwined SF inside a red oval.
What was the original San Francisco 49ers logo?
A mustached gold miner firing pistols, from 1946.
Did the 49ers change their logo?
Yes, several times, though the SF has been the main mark since 1962.
What is the 49ers old logo?
The gold miner and the shield crest with the number 49.
How to draw the San Francisco 49ers logo?
We do not provide logo artwork, because it is a team trademark.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Logos and uniforms of the San Francisco 49ers (secondary source)
- JerseyZenith catalog (seo/catalog/products.json), counted October 26, 2026