Is the new LA Rams logo for real? Or is it just a hoax?

Has the official new LA Rams logo leaked onto social media? Or is this some elaborate hoax to build buzz for the real design?

In our latest article, we covered what appears to be the new and improved LA Rams logo.  Controversial is the best and most respectful adjective I can find to what the impression of it is among the Rams fandom. But, is that it? Is it set in stone or could they make a last-minute change? Was this a “test market” leak?

Keep in mind that LA Rams COO Kevin Demoff has been taunting fans through his personal Twitter profile.  That flirtatious manner has taken the shape of many misdirections over the new team logo and color scheme.  He has gone from liking sudden uniform mock-ups to changing his profile a couple of times.

One of the new uniform designs (an illustration of a ram in two tones of blue) was not well received by an eager community, waiting to learn the destiny of their beloved team new colors. Demoff changed his Twitter profile with an image of new artwork for a Ram, with a dark blue image against a light blue background.

Also, in Reddit and Twitter, there have been circulating rumors on the new color scheme and uniforms (with some mock-ups as well).

A new team logo design and color scheme are incredibly vital to the team and franchise. The new design drives new merchandise sales. Merchandise sales drive the vitality of the team. So this is an important first step into the 2020 NFL season.

Theories

While most of the fans are going crazy in a very Twitter hell-to-pay fashion, the new design has not been published or officially released by the Los Angeles Rams official website. Yet, many have suggested that this image could have been photoshopped, a very common practice nowadays, but a second angle on the said hat quickly sent those theories to rest.

There is also another one that I thought all night long, and it doesn’t seem as crazy as it can sound.

A few weeks ago, Twitter user Michael Kist (@MichaelKistNFL) shared what looks to be the official design of this year’s NFL draft headgear (don’t look at the Rams design, as it is clear the team didn’t want New Era to be the one breaking out the new logo), along with the alternative designs. They all are in neon color, with a neon phrase on the side of the hat, as the one shown in this article. Up till there, we could be almost certain that the leak is bulletproof… Until this.

This San Francisco 49ers hat comes allegedly from the same source that sent the Rams graphic design.  Upon inspection, one can decipher a message on the side of the hat.  There appears to be the phrase “Faithful To The Bay” embroidered upon it.  Alternatively, the designs shared by Kasti’s it just says “Niners”.  Sure, maybe the 49ers were still planning on what to put into it, but at least, it shares some concern on authenticity.

If you take a closer look at every design that Kasti shared, every cap has a black base, the color of the hat is not affected by the team colors. Now, look back at the alleged Rams one. Do you see it? Yes, it is blue, that could tell us even more about the authenticity of the design.

The Waiting Game

So it seems that the leaks may be part of the official strategy. Slip a design to the public, poll the reaction, and use that feedback to modify the design.  It’s simply a give-and-take dialogue on one side, but a waiting game on the other.

Nevertheless, the waiting game will continue, and people will keep messing with our eager minds. From fans to the teams COO, the Rams actual quarterback Jared Goff and even former star and LAR’s legend Jim Everett will try to light up a spark, it is up to you to wait patiently or fall in the gam, that is actually really cool.

Based upon the reaction of fans to this recent leak, it’s back to the drawing board.  That could simply mean revising the color scheme, and that’s fine.  But it could mean some graphic changes to the image itself, and that will be a bit more problematic if production has already begun on merchandise.

Ben Albright, a respected NFL reported, indicated his source claims it’s the real 2020 LA Rams logo.

But that’s the risk teams take with each reformulation, design, or color changes. And that’s why “leaks” occur. Better to circulate the concept, get fan feedback, and fix the concept before investing significant time and money into a dud.