Phoenix Mercury unveil new logo to celebrate 30th season
The new look Phoenix Mercury have a new logo to match.
The Mercury unveiled a new set of logos on Monday that not only pay homage to its rich history and traditions, but sets the stage for its future ahead of team’s 30th anniversary next season. The rebrand ‘is not a wholesale reinvention, but an evolution,’ Mercury president Vince Kozar told USA TODAY Sports on Friday.
The Mercury has undergone a lot of change in the past years. Phoenix came under new ownership in 2023 when Mat Ishbia purchased the Mercury, along with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. The franchise’s cornerstone of Diana Taurasi (retirement) and Brittney Griner (trade) departed in 2025 and the new Big 3 of Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally led the Mercury back to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2021.
Although Kozar said the Mercury’s rebrand has been in the process for the past two years, the timing of the new logo’s arrival couldn’t be more perfect. It marks the start of an official new era of Mercury basketball.
‘I think all of those things right there are sort of seminal moments of a new era,’ said Kozar, who has seen the different iterations of the three-time champion Mercury first hand after starting as a intern in 2004. ‘All of those things combined made it feel like the right time to sort of pivot this into the future.’
Phoenix’s new primary logo features the iconic Mercury ‘M’ positioned at a 19.97 degree angle, a nod to the Mercury’s inaugural 1997 season as one of the original eight franchises in the WNBA.
‘We take a ton of pride in being one of the original franchises, not only because we were a team that helped found this league, but it takes a lot to get to season 30,’ Kozar said. ‘To be in the same city with the same name in the same arena for 30 years, that’s not something that any other WNBA team can claim. It was important to us to honor being one of the original eight. It was important to us to honor 1997, and it was important to us to keep the ‘M,’ but modernize it in a way that feels like the next 30 years, not the last 30 years.’
The purple crescent echoes the ‘shadowed side of planet Mercury’ and the pointed edge of the ‘M’ is a nod to the original geometric rings and serves as an arrow pointing to the franchise’s future. The future appears to be the Big 3 of Thomas, Copper and Satou, who are all set to become free agents this offseason. Signing the trio will be a priority for the Mercury after the ‘on-court success those three found together,’ but Kozar said he ultimately leaves those difficult decisions to the Mercury’s general manager Nick U’Ren.
‘Our fans had only two returning players on their favorite team this year. And by the end of the year, I saw people wearing (Thomas) jerseys, our top sellers. I saw people wearing unicorn headbands for Satou. I saw the ‘Kahleah Freaking Copper’ t-shirts all over the arena. Our fans have really fallen in love with the team,’ Kozar said. ‘So I’m just really excited for the team that they’ve built and the players who were coming back to hopefully make another run to the Final.’
The Mercury’s rebrand keeps its devoted fanbase, known as the X-Factor, at its core. Phoenix upgraded the ‘Merc’ nickname dubbed by the fans into the team’s first-ever secondary logo. The Mercury also revamped its Phoenix alternate logo to feature a highlighted ‘X’ to celebrate the X-factor, ‘which doesn’t exist with any other team in any other sport,’ Kozar said.
‘That’s their affectionate nickname for our team. And that was never previously a mark within our identity, and we added that specifically for (the fans),’ Kozar explained. ‘There’s a ton of pride there because it represents the fan base that has been here from day one. It represents fans and owners who got us through candidly, some really lean times, both on the basketball court and on the business side.’
Merc Merch Swap
In celebration of the team’s new era, the Mercury are holding a Merc Merch Swap at the Team Shop at Mortgage Matchup Arena that allows fans to exchange one piece of apparel for new Mercury merchandise through Dec. 5. Fans can exchange any Mercury or WNBA gear, in addition to merch from any WNBA team, and will also receive a 20% off coupon for future use. (All exchanged gear will be donated to the Goodwill.)
Diehard fans also have an opportunity to imprint their allegiance forever. Phoenix is teaming up with Lady Luck Tattoo to offer complimentary logo tattoos to the first 100 fans. Fans can sign up at phxmerc.com/freetattoo.
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