San Francisco artist launches city-wide art hunt for Super Bowl Friday

Aaron de la Cruz is dropping original work at 11 businesses — the first one there gets to take it home.

Published on Feb. 6, 2026

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San Francisco artist Aaron de la Cruz has collaborated with the NFL on a fashion capsule collection and is now launching a city-wide art hunt in San Francisco on Super Bowl Friday. De la Cruz will be distributing 11 pieces of his original artwork to 11 different businesses across the city, and the first customer at each location to ask "What's the play?" will get to take the art home.

Why it matters

De la Cruz's collaboration with the NFL is a rare opportunity for a local artist, highlighting the league's efforts to engage with the creative community in host cities. The art hunt also provides a fun way for San Francisco residents and visitors to support small businesses in the city during the Super Bowl festivities.

The details

De la Cruz's 'Playbook' collection for the NFL features t-shirts and hoodies with his signature abstract, handwritten style inspired by play diagrams and dry erase boards. For the art hunt, De la Cruz has created a larger piece titled 'Connected' depicting a football field, and he will be distributing 11 parts of this work to 11 different businesses across 11 districts in San Francisco. The first customer at each location to ask 'What's the play?' will get to take home the original artwork.

  • The art hunt will start at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 6, 2026.

The players

Aaron de la Cruz

A San Francisco-based artist known for his abstract, handwritten style that references everything from ancient symbols to skateboarding culture. He is the first visual artist chosen for a merchandise collaboration with the NFL.

NFL

The National Football League, which has collaborated with De la Cruz on an 'Origins: An NFL Collection' fashion capsule featuring his artwork.

BLVCK SCVLE

A Bay Area fashion brand that is one of three local collaborators enlisted by the NFL to create pieces for the 'Origins: An NFL Collection'.

Nostalgia

A Bay Area fashion brand that is one of three local collaborators enlisted by the NFL to create pieces for the 'Origins: An NFL Collection'.

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What they’re saying

“A lot of my work focuses on gestural hand movements, it's rooted in deconstructed letter form. I thought, 'How do you take the sport, and deconstruct it to its most simple form?'”

— Aaron de la Cruz, Artist

“There's 11 players on a football field, 11 locations we're going to and 11 districts in San Francisco.”

— Aaron de la Cruz, Artist

“The 10-year-old kid that fell in love with the NFL never would have thought this day would come.”

— Aaron de la Cruz, Artist

What’s next

Further details about the 'What's the play?' art hunt can be found at www.aarondelacruz.com.

The takeaway

De la Cruz's collaboration with the NFL and city-wide art hunt showcase how local artists can creatively engage with major sporting events to support small businesses and bring the community together around shared passions.