The logo is dominated by the roman numerals XLIV (next year’s Super Bowl will be the 44th) with the word Super over the XL and Bowl over the IV. Roman numerals have formed part of all Super Bowl logos except the very first one.

A goal sits in between the L and the I to divide the logo in two parts. A football is seen flying in between the goal posts. As has been the case in recent years red and blue stars represent the American and National conferences of the NFL.

The orange color is said to be a nod to Florida, as the game will be held in Miami next year.

The lifetime for this logo is short, like the Super Bowl logo. Its purpose is also to appear on merchandise realted to the event, but on a smaller scale as its Super Bowl counterpart.

Even so I think it’s a nice logo, with references to the Arizona desert and nods to Phoenix’ own NBA franchise in the purple and orange colors.

The Super Bowl logo is a strange animal. It is designed for a single day event and is immediately forgotten afterward. But in its limited lifetime it is printed on an estimated $100 million worth merchandise.

The New York Times has a nice piece on the design and background of the Super Bowl logos, complete with an overview of all the previous logos. There’s also a slideshow of alternative logos.

And yes, this year’s logo does indeed bear some similarity to the Bank of America logo!