Tampa Bay Buccaneers Unveil 50th Season Logo

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will celebrate their 50th season this fall and recently unveiled a commemorative logo to mark the occasion.

The past built us. Tampa Bay made us.

Season 50 is up next. pic.twitter.com/DbPSkIUwoH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 10, 2025

The Buccaneers were founded as an expansion franchise in 1976, with their nickname being chosen as part of a radio contest that also featured names such as Buzzards, Coastal Tides and Sailors.

The team then commissioned award-winning Tampa Tribune artist Lamar Parkman to design their first logo, which featured a pirate named Bucco Bruce wearing a plumed hat and clenching a knife in his mouth.

The logo was accompanied by a unique color scheme of florescent orange and red as a nod to the Florida citrus industry, as well as the symbolism of “courage and fortitude in battle”

That logo and color scheme spanned 21 seasons, including an infamous 0-26 start, an NFL-worst 100-233-1 record and 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1983-96, all of which prompted a significant rebrand.

The Buccaneers introduced their current red and pewter color scheme in 1997 and replaced Bucco Bruce with a tattered flag featuring Calico Jack’s version of the Jolly Roger, which features cross swords instead of bones.

The rebrand ushered a new era in Tampa Bay, including the end of the Buccaneers’ 15-year playoff drought that season, the opening of Raymond James Stadium in 1998 and the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory in 2003 (XXXVII).

That look lasted until 2014, when Tampa Bay unveiled new uniforms with a modernized logo, the first chrome facemask in the NFL and a unique number font that seemingly mimicked the design of a digital alarm clock.

The Buccaneers failed to make the playoffs during that uniform’s six-season run and returned to their Super Bowl-era design in 2020, the only differences being their updated logo set and wordmark.

Coupled with the signing of three-time NFL MVP quarterback Tom Brady, Tampa Bay saw immediate success in the uniforms and ended another long playoff drought end route to winning Super Bowl LV.

Naturally, the logo for the Buccaneers’ 50th season pulls inspiration from their uniforms, with the No. 50 in their current number font and a shield that replicates the look of their red home jerseys.

The shield’s outline features an orange and black outline, further mimicking their number font, while “Seasons” is displayed inside of a ribbon above Tampa Bay’s primary logo and the years 1976 and 2025.

The Buccaneers will likely wear the logo as a patch on their uniforms this year, just like they did for their 10th season in 1985, 30th season in 2005 and 40th season in 2015. They did not have a logo or patch for their 20th season in 1995, however.

Photo courtesy of @Buccaneers on X/Twitter.