Atlanta Falcons’ New Profile Picture Sparks Nazi Comparisons & Memes

The Atlanta Falcons quietly changed their social media profile pictures after a throwback logo graphic drew a wave of Nazi comparisons and jokes online ahead of Sunday’s game against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

The team posted the image on X on Oct. 21. It featured the franchise’s classic black-and-white falcon logo set against vertical stripes of red, black and gold, a nod to the team’s original 1966 uniform, which paired a red helmet with black, white and gold striping.

Many users quickly noted the graphic’s resemblance to World War II-era German military imagery, with some comparing it to the Reichskriegsflagge, the war flag of Nazi Germany. The replies soon filled with jokes.

“I must say, I was not expecting to wake up this morning to see that the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to invade Poland,” one user wrote.

Others went for puns, including “I did Nazi this coming” and “the bird reich.” One fan referenced the team’s infamous Super Bowl LI collapse against the New England Patriots: “Falcons were up 28-3 at Dunkirk.”

The original post remains up, but the Falcons replaced their X and Instagram profile photos with a simpler image showing only the red retro helmet and the throwback logo, with no stripes in the background.

A team representative told NBC News the Falcons do not have a “new logo” and declined further comment.

The logo itself is nothing new. The Falcons used the bird as their primary logo from 1989 to 2002, and the team has worn it in throwback games nearly every season since 2009, except for the years when the NFL barred alternate helmets. The striping will also be on the field Sunday, running down the center of the helmets the Falcons will wear against the 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Sports logo historian Chris Creamer defended the team’s intentions.

“Absolutely there was no ill intent, and I can’t imagine in a million years the Atlanta Falcons would do something like that,” Creamer told NBC News.

He added that he likely would have missed the resemblance himself. “I think if I was in the room with the Falcons, honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed it when I hit send,” he said.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank is Jewish and has given significant sums to Holocaust remembrance causes, making the comparisons especially awkward for the franchise.

This isn’t the first time the throwback look has drawn similar reactions online. In September 2024, a retro profile-picture change ahead of a game against the New Orleans Saints drew similar comments, with some users likening it to Nazi insignia while others urged the team to keep the look.

Much of the online reaction this week was more trolling than outrage, with fans and rivals seizing on a rare self-inflicted branding misstep. Still, the swift profile-picture change suggests the team didn’t want the jokes to linger heading into a key home game against the undefeated 49ers.