Getting the Chiefs Colors Right for Your Projects
The Kansas City Chiefs have been using red and gold as their primary colors since the franchise moved to Kansas City in 1963. Before that, they were the Dallas Texans, and the colors carried over. The exact shades matter more than most people realize if you are trying to match them accurately for merch, design work, or fan content. The team's official red is a deep, slightly orange-leaning red. In HEX it comes in around #E31837, with the RGB values sitting at roughly 227, 24, 55. The gold is more of a warm, almost amber tone — HEX #FFB81C, or RGB 255, 184, 28. These are the values you will see on the team's official brand guidelines and on NFL equipment orders. I learned the hard way that these numbers are not interchangeable with "standard red" and "standard gold" from a design software preset. A client once asked me to produce game-day banners and I used a default red from a color library. The Chiefs staff noticed immediately and sent it back. The difference is subtle on a screen but glaring in person, especially under stadium lighting. The team's red has enough orange in it that it pops differently than a true crimson would.
When I needed to get this right for a large print run, I pulled the actual Pantone match from the NFL's licensed vendor specs. The closest Pantone for the red is PMS 186 C, and for the gold it is PMS 1235 C. Printing on fabric is a different beast than paper though. I ended up having to adjust the red slightly warmer because the dye absorption on polyester shifted it toward a darker, mudgier tone. Going with a slight over-saturation in the digital file compensated for that. It cost an extra proofing round but saved us from reprinting three hundred jerseys.
Where to Use These Values
If you are working in digital design, the HEX and RGB values above will look correct on screen. For print, convert to CMYK. The red breaks down to roughly C0 M93 Y82 K6, and the gold is C0 M21 Y93 K0. These conversions are approximate though. Print houses will want their own separation, and the results can vary depending on whether you are using coated or uncoated stock. Always request a physical proof before committing to a full run. For vector work in Illustrator or Inkscape, lock those values into your document swatches. I keep a dedicated swatch file for sports team colors because going back and forth trying to remember the right shade wastes time. There is also a common pitfall where people confuse the Chiefs' red with the Cincinnati Bengals' orange or the Chicago Bears' navy-adjacent red. The Bengals' orange is much more yellow-based. The Bears use a different red entirely. If you are designing for a multi-team project, double-check each brand's specific guidelines. The gold also shows up in different contexts. The helmets feature a single stripe that uses the gold, and the current throwback uniforms incorporate a slightly different shade. The classic 1960s-era gold was a bit deeper and less saturated than what they use now. If you are doing historical accuracy work, that distinction matters. The modern uniform update in recent years kept the same core palette but refined the tones slightly for television visibility.
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A Note on Licensing
Using the exact team colors for personal projects is fine, but if you are producing merchandise for sale, you need licensing through the NFL or the team. The colors themselves are not trademarked in isolation, but combining them with the Chiefs' wordmark, logo, or specific design elements triggers licensing requirements. I have seen small vendors get away with using just the color scheme on plain gear, but that is a legal gray area, not a recommendation. The NFL cracks down on unauthorized merchandise regularly, and the enforcement is unpredictable. For fan-made items like custom paint jobs on cars, bar signage, or home decor, you generally do not need a license. The issue only becomes relevant when you are selling items at scale or using official logos alongside the colors. When in doubt, reach out to the NFL's licensing department or check the Chiefs' official online store for authorized partners. The red and gold combination is one of the more recognizable color schemes in the NFL, partly because it has stayed consistent for decades. That consistency works in your favor if you are building a brand around it, but it also means any deviation is noticed quickly by fans. Getting the shades right is not just about aesthetics. It is about respect for the tradition behind the colors.
