As the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs will be on national display throughout the 2024 season.
Since fans will get more chances to watch the Chiefs in action, fans may wonder what the big “A” patch on their jerseys represent.
The “A” patch isn’t new by any means as the Chiefs have sported it since the 2007 season. The patch sits on their left chest just above the players’ numbers.
What does the “A” on Chiefs uniforms stand for?
The patches are worn to honor the late Lamar Hunt, who founded the American Football League in 1960. From there, the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970 to make the league we know today. Hunt’s legacy sits within the Chiefs organization, too, as he brought the team to Kansas City in 1963. He originally owned the Dallas Texans starting in 1960, but then decided to move the team. He stayed with the Chiefs organization until his death.
Hunt died in Dec. 2006, prompting his son Clark Hunt, who took over as the Chiefs owner, to commission the patches for the jerseys in 2007.
The design of the patch mimics the original AFL logo. The giant “A” is surrounded by six stars and an eagle lies behind the letter, just as the original logo had. But, in the first logo, the letters AFL were shown in the. football below the “A,” but the Chiefs changed it to “LH” to stand for Lamar Hunt.
A close-up shot of the “A” logo patch on a Kansas City Chiefs jersey. | Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports© Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Chiefs also chose to create a similar logo to the AFL’s to pay homage to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl IV win, which was the last Super Bowl played before the merger.
