Phoenix Mercury unveil first rebrand ahead of original WNBA franchise’s 30th birthday
As its 30th anniversary approached, the Phoenix Mercury was considering major changes. The original WNBA franchise, one of four still in existence, announced them Monday with the team’s first-ever rebranding that includes new logos and wordmarks.
It is the last of four remaining original franchises to adopt a new identity ahead of the WNBA’s 30th season in 2026. It was one of three teams to further update its look over the past decade as interest in the WNBA reached new heights.
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The main logo features a singular “M” rather than its full name, on a purple and orange crescent shape. The world logo presents a more modern vision of the planet presented in its previous logo. For the first time, the team added a secondary logo, representing the state of Arizona with basketball lines and its nickname “Merc”.
“It was about us modernizing what we think is a legacy brand,” Mercury President Vince Kozar told Yahoo Sports in a phone call last week.
Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor, the legends who helped create the three-time WNBA champion brand, saw the logo before its public reveal. It was important to Kozar, who started with the Mercury as an intern in 2004, to pay tribute to those who helped create this moment. Especially Taurasi.
“A lot of teams have faces of the franchise,” Kozar told Yahoo Sports, repeating a stance he took during Taurasi’s retirement season in 2024. “Our face of the franchise has worn the uniform for 20 of our 28 years. She’s not someone who’s worn it for 15 of 60 years. She’s very much a part of it and we’ve really built that with her.”
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The originally envisioned 25th anniversary refresh comes at a time of transition for one of the league’s three original franchises still in its inaugural city. (The Utah Starzz first moved to San Antonio and are now in Las Vegas.) Phoenix played its first season of the post-Taurasi and Brittney Griner era in 2025, reaching the WNBA Finals with just two returns amid growing league-wide interest.
The franchise isn’t far into a new era of ownership after Mat Ishbia purchased the NBA’s Mercury and Sun in 2023. And the entire league is in new territory as viewership, attendance, merchandise sales and cultural intersections explode.
“When you combine all of those things, we really thought it was time,” Kozar said. “And then part of that was just answering really boring logistics design questions for ourselves.”
The old logo, with its color palette change in 2011, still lacked versatility and the team’s predominant purple color. The planet’s imbalance on one side and the tilted font — which people have compared to the Pizza Planet sign from “Toy Story” — created usability difficulties on merchandise. This has become more critical with expanded merchandise offerings, crossover partnerships, and a push for modern design from expansion teams as well as existing league members.
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“It was important for us to really modernize a look that felt like us,” Kozar said. “For new fans who are accustomed to and hungry for really modern and cool products and who gravitate towards really modern and cool brands. But also, let’s honor the fans and the brand recognizability that we’ve had for almost 30 years.”
The New York Liberty, an original franchise, introduced a new identity in 2020 after Joe and Clara Wu Tsai purchased the team from New York Knicks team owner James Dolan. The Brooklyn team’s seafoam look has moved away from the orange and blue associated with the Manhattan Knicks. The Los Angeles Sparks, the third original franchise still in its hometown, introduced the first logo iteration in their history for their 25th anniversary in 2021.
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The Washington Mystics are the only team from the 1990s that has yet to change their logo; it upgraded its color scheme in 2011. The Fever have also kept their logo since 2000, and the Dallas Wings have had theirs since 2016.
The Mercury will continue its brand reveal this week with new uniforms on Tuesday and a celebratory drone show over Central Phoenix on Friday, along with additional integrations and announcements. Collective negotiations will also continue this week between the league and the players’ union ahead of the November 30 deadline.
“What we’re excited about is it’s about our team and our brand and our fans and where this is going,” Kozar said. “Whatever happens [with the CBA]we’re going to play games and it’s actually the perfect time [to announce]. Obviously we want to get everything resolved… It’s a great alternative to darkness during the dog days of winter in the WNBA offseason, so to speak.
