Fox completes rollout of updated, sometimes controversial, football graphics for NFL coverage

Fox Sports has rolled out the updated score bug and insert graphics system that first debuted during February 2025’s coverage of Super Bowl LIX across its NFL coverage.

Motion Graphics

Fox Sports Super Bowl LIV

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Designed by Drive Studio, the new look got mixed reviews when it debuted, though the typography-centric look that swaps out traditional boxed elements in favor of a cleaner gradient-backed look, also scored points for being innovative and offering a fresh take on bolder, eye-catching inserts.

It’s common for viewers to have strong reactions when a network updates graphics, which often requires viewers to retrain themselves as to where each nugget of information is now located. Response can be especially vocal if the design pushes the envelope a bit more than usual, as Fox’s update did, but design can involve taking risks.

Likewise, it’s also common for the initial fuss over a new score bug to die down as viewers adapt. 

“Our design strips away unnecessary style and format clutter, relying instead on classic, branded typography rooted in the iconic Fox wordmark. The result: a look that puts the game front and center — intentionally timeless, evocative of the clarity and drama of classic NFL broadcasts,” wrote Nick DiNapoli, the co-founder and executive creative director of Drive in a LinkedIn post.

“At (Drive), we pride ourselves on pushing beyond ordinary thinking and stylistic trends. And we’re grateful to our partners at Fox Sports for continually championing innovation — and defining what comes next,” the post concluded. 

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The full rollout also means that fans will start seeing how the package looks with various other team names and colors, which was, like my sports graphics packages, a key part of the design system.

Teams are typically represented on-screen with two or three letter abbreviations in reference to either their hometown, team name or both, with the official logo used nearby or, in the case of applications meant to be used in larger, more decorative parts of the broadcast, on top of the lettering.