At a Glance
- “Choose Love” will appear in every end zone and on every helmet decal for all four divisional-round playoff games this weekend
- The same phrase, paired with “It Takes All of Us,” will be painted in opposite Super Bowl LX end zones next month
- Host teams will pick their own stencils for the AFC and NFC championship games
- Why it matters: The league is amplifying a message first adopted by the Buffalo Bills after the 2022 Buffalo shooting, turning a local tribute into a national playoff ritual
The NFL is scaling up its “Choose Love” campaign for the postseason, ensuring the phrase greets every player and fan watching this weekend’s divisional-round matchups. End zones at all four stadiums will carry the stencil, and every helmet will feature a matching decal, according to details released by Derrick M. Collins and reported by News Of Fort Worth.
From Buffalo Tragedy to League-Wide Tribute
The simple two-word message debuted in 2022 when the Bills painted it in their end zone after a mass shooting devastated the city. Adoption spread quickly; by last season the stencil appeared at the Super Bowl following a deadly attack in New Orleans. This year the league is making “Choose Love” the default choice for its highest-stakes games.
How the Messaging Will Look
Divisional round setup:
- End zones: “Choose Love” in every stadium
- Helmets: uniform decal on all eight remaining teams
- Selection: individual clubs have no say; the league mandates the design
Championship round:
- Host teams pick their own stencil from the approved social-justice menu
Super Bowl LX:
- One end zone: “Choose Love”
- Opposite end zone: “It Takes All of Us”
Six Seasons of On-Field Activism
Since 2019 the NFL has reserved end-zone real estate for social-justice messaging. This season teams chose from four league-approved phrases for their home games:
- “End Racism”
- “Stop Hate”
- “Choose Love”
- “Inspire Change”
The phrase “It Takes All of Us” appeared in the opposite end zone every week, creating a consistent paired message across all 32 stadiums.
League Statement
Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice-president of social responsibility, tied the campaign directly to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Dr. King’s message continues to guide how we show up in meaningful moments across the league. ‘Choose Love’ has become an important and widely embraced message for our teams because it reflects the values Dr. King championed – dignity, empathy, and a commitment to our shared humanity. Bringing it forward in the Divisional Round and again at Super Bowl LX reflects that continued relevance.”
Key Takeaways
- The NFL is unifying its playoff branding around a single social-justice phrase for the first time since the program began
- “Choose Love” moves from an optional team choice to a league mandate on the sport’s biggest stages
- The campaign will book-end the postseason: divisional round this weekend and Super Bowl LX on February 9, 2025
