The Phoenix Mercury debuted in 1997 as one of the WNBA’s eight original teams. Their logo history moves from a ringed planet paired with script lettering to a purple-and-orange refresh, then to an M-and-planet design introduced for the 2026 season. The team has won WNBA championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014 (AP via NBC Miami).
Phoenix Mercury Logo PNG
Meaning and History
The early marks share a distinctive structure: a planet crossed by orbit lines above or behind a slanted Phoenix Mercury wordmark. The 2011-era version retained that composition while shifting toward the purple-and-orange colors associated with the team. In November 2025, the Mercury introduced a new identity built around an M set against a planet crescent, ahead of the franchise’s 30th season (Arizona Sports; ESPN).
1997 – 2010
The early logo places a ringed planet behind a bold, slanted script wordmark. The pictured version uses yellow lettering, dark outlines and a pale orange planet. Arizona Sports reports that in 2003 “Mercury” was dropped from the primary logo; the change helps explain why early versions of the identity are not all identical (Arizona Sports).
2011 – 2025
The later wordmark-and-planet design keeps the same broad arrangement but replaces the yellow lettering in the earlier pictured mark with white. The team’s shift toward purple and orange was reported as a 2011 color adjustment, while the orbit lines and script lettering remained recognizable features (Arizona Sports; AP via NBC Miami).
2025 — Today
The Mercury revealed the new identity privately on November 21, 2025, and publicly on November 24, ahead of the 2026 season. Its primary mark replaces the long wordmark-and-planet arrangement with a large M over a planet crescent. The club’s new system includes 14 logos, marks and wordmarks, and the team’s current identity is the one introduced in that rebrand (ESPN; Sports Business Journal).
The broader set includes a global logo with eight radiating lines. The team’s president, Vince Kozar, described the lines as a reference both to the original planet rings and to the WNBA’s eight founding teams. ESPN also reported that the M’s angle references 1997, the franchise’s inaugural season, and that the wordmarks use an eight-degree horizon as a further nod to the league’s original teams (ESPN).
Typography and Color
The new identity uses a custom typeface created in-house, according to ESPN. Its primary mark combines a white M with orange and purple shapes against a purple roundel, a compact arrangement that reads differently from the extended script wordmark of the earlier designs.
The rebrand retained purple, orange, white and black, while adding a lighter shade reported as “psychic purple” (AP via NBC Miami; ClutchPoints via Yahoo Sports).
View the Phoenix Mercury logo archive entry.
Disclaimer
This article is part of the educational resources provided by Logo Index, an independent archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. Phoenix Mercury and associated trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective rights holders where applicable.
