ESPN debuts new NFL graphics, score bug ahead of first Super Bowl

ESPN has soft-launched a new NFL score bug and graphics package during its preseason football coverage, providing an early look at a visual system that will be used throughout the upcoming NFL season and for Super Bowl LXI.

The package will be used across NFL broadcasts on ESPN networks this season, including “Monday Night Football” and games carried exclusively by NFL Network.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to elevate our fan experience, we are excited to soft-launch a brand new graphics and animation package that will culminate with our first-ever Super Bowl,” an ESPN spokesperson said in a statement.

The new design first appeared during coverage of the Las Vegas Raiders-Houston Texans game in Week 2 of the 2026 NFL preseason.

The new score bug and “blitz towers” are similar to those introduced last year for college football coverage on ESPN properties, building on the 2023 “MNF” redesign. 

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The overall design continues the flashy, glossy, premium aesthetic that ESPN has used to differentiate Monday night, primetime games from those airing on Sunday afternoons. 

ESPN characterized the preseason debut as a soft launch, with the system expected to evolve before the regular season debut and throughout the season. 

The package will also serve as the foundation for ESPN’s graphics presentation of Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027. The game will air on ESPN and ABC and mark ESPN’s first Super Bowl production.

Along with the motion graphics, ESPN is also preparing to debut a revamped Studio W, the primary home of ESPN’s NFL coverage for more than a decade. Shows including “Sunday NFL Countdown,” “Monday Night Countdown” and “NFL Live” regularly use the space, with select ABC college football coverage also coming from the studio.