Why Are There Wooden Team Logos at the 2025 NFL Draft?

It involves a local Milwaukee artist.

Artist Ike Wynter lays among his many creations for the 2025 draft. / NFL / Screenshot

Although round one of the 2025 NFL Draft doesn't kick off until 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night, we already know of an exciting design detail to be unveiled at this year's event, specifically as it relates to the Player Walkway.

Lining the hallowed passage—the path on which every prospect who is at the draft will walk before their name is called—will be handcrafted wooden logos for all 32 teams, meticulously created by Wisconsin artist Ike Wynter.

A mock-up of the Player Walkway with Wynter's creations. / NFL

Why Are There Wooden Team Logos at the Draft?

Because the 2025 Draft is in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the NFL tapped Wynter, a local artist with a large social media following, to create a 3'x3' wooden mosaic for every team in the league. The installation is meant to honor the event's theme, "Built by Community."

Per Wynter, the league reached out after discovering his art online. "I really didn't think it was real," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal. "The fact that [the NFL] chose a Wisconsin artist and a local artist to do a project of this significance is very humbling."

How Did Wynter Make Each Logo?

Wynter is an eco-sustainable artist, so he created each logo using entirely reclaimed wood sourced from furniture discarded around Wisconsin, per an NFL release. He spent over 500 hours transforming the scraps into the mosaics, for which he used no added paint or stain.

“To have this work be part of such a major moment for these players, and for it to represent the heart of Wisconsin, is an incredible honor,” he said. “Each piece of wood is from this community and has its own story, and I wanted to honor that by creating something meaningful without altering its natural beauty.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ike Wynter (@ike_wynter)

Who is Ike Wynter?

Wynter is a self-taught, Milwaukee-based artist whose past clients include Mike Tyson and the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been featured on The TODAY Show, and even has a piece hanging in the New York Stock Exchange, per the Green Bay Press Gazette.

What's more, his NFL roots run deeper than just being a fan; his grandfather, Raymond Kuffel, was drafted to the league in 1944, per the Journal Sentinal. Now that's pretty cool.

---

More NFL Draft on Sports Illustrated

feed