There’s a lot of chatter currently circulating about the Seahawks possibly getting new uniforms for next season. It’s all based on some very sketchy-seeming information, so I debated whether it was even worth writing about, but I’ve decided to go ahead and address it, albeit with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Here’s the deal: On Monday night, a Seattle-centric Twitter-er posted screen shots of what he said was a “now-deleted Reddit post” about the Seahawks getting new uniforms for 2024.
Now-deleted Reddit post on /Seahawks indicating the Seahawks are getting new uniforms in 2024? pic.twitter.com/O9VoOJtk6z
— Geno Smith is #Good (@ColdWunz) January 16, 2024
Here’s the purported Reddit post:
That’s the fairly detailed description. The same Twitter-er then followed up yesterday morning by posting a mock-up that seemed similar to the purported Reddit description, although it’s not clear (at least to me) who created the mock-up, or when:
As someone else pointed out, this mock-up closely resembles what the post describes.
(Content warning: GORE) pic.twitter.com/lqnPyHUM9d
— Geno Smith is #Good (@ColdWunz) January 16, 2024
So that’s what all the chatter is about. Obviously, a tweet based on a deleted Reddit post (which the Twitter-er conveniently happened to get a screen shot of before it was deleted) is not exactly an unimpeachable source and should definitely be setting off all of our bullshit detectors. With that very large caveat in mind, let’s shift into FAQ mode:
Prior to this, had you heard anything about the Seahawks getting new uniforms for 2024?
No — not a peep. That doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t happening, of course, but NFL redesigns these days usually come with some advance warning. For example, we’ve known for a while that the Broncos, Lions, and Texans have makeovers in the works for 2024. Similarly, last year we knew well in advance that the Cardinals would be getting a new uni set, and we even knew in advance about many of the throwbacks that were in the works.
So if the Seahawks are truly getting a new uni set, it means they’ve been able to keep it a secret until now, which would buck the recent trend.
Is there anything else about the Reddit description that makes you skeptical?
The idea of a Seahawks redesign that doesn’t include an alternate helmet color strikes me as very surprising. Then again, if someone wanted to float a phony rumor, they’d probably want to generate more chatter by suggesting something outrageous, like a neon-green helmet or something like that. So the idea that they’d stick to one shell, as unlikely as it seems, could be viewed as lending more credence to the post.
Is there anything about the Reddit description that makes you less skeptical?
I thought there was at first. As I’ve mentioned on a few occasions, the Seahawks went through a lengthy stretch this season when they didn’t wear their usual mono-navy home combo. So when I read the Reddit description of the new home combo being blue over grey, I initially thought, “Aha, that makes sense — they wore that color combo a lot this season.” I figured the navy/grey games this season could be a way of easing the transition to the new uni set.
But when I checked the Gridiron Uniform Database, I discovered that Seattle went navy over grey only twice this season, which isn’t as often as I had thought (and, as it turns out, is the same number of times they did it in 2022 and 2021). Not only that, but they went back to mono-navy for their final two home games. So my “easing the transition” theory doesn’t really hold up.
What do you think of the mock-up?
From my perspective, something along those lines would be a big upgrade (although I’d rather see white pants instead of grey).
In your gut, do you think this whole thing is legit?
I try not to make predictions. The sketchy sourcing and the lack of any previous chatter both make me very skeptical, but hey, anything is possible. If anyone out there knows more about this, I’d love to hear from you. Anonymity assured, of course.
Speaking of unverified NFL rumors, have you heard anything more about that Broncos situation?
Nothing new to report on that front, unfortunately.
Personally, I liked the Broncos Elway Superbowl unis from day 1 and still do, and I didn’t care for Seahawks unis until they became competitive and now they’ve grown on me (because they’ve been around a while and became less revolting, especially when other teams came out with worse unis), but I know that for some fans of both Broncos and Seahawks, they were polarizing from days 1 (and for a subsection of those fans they’ve remained so) but I just don’t care anymore. I would like them to keep the current sets, and hope the new sets at least aren’t garish, but if one of both of them do end up changing and into something more offensive, a) it doesn’t bother me, and b) winning cures almost everything, at least in the short run.
I echo these sentiments, especially for the Seahawks. Love their throwbacks, but they’ve had a lot of success wearing the current set, and they’ve grown on me A LOT. Once you’ve found an “identity”, stick with it. I mean, imagine if the Steelers decided to change their uniforms after their 1970s run. Or, look at all the awfulness the 49ers went through before returning to their 80s look. I don’t even want the Patriots to change at this point, unless they go back to the Brady era look. Flying Elvis is their identity now (sorry, Pat P, you’ve been relegated to throwback status).
I agree – to me the silver helmet & pants with blue shirts is used by Detroit, Dallas & New England (at least I wish NE & Detroit would go with silver pants…), so the Seahawks were just another team in that combo. The current helmets in that shade of blue are unique – particularly with the green, so this is how I see the Seahawks (and as a 49ers fan still get a nervous twitch when I see them). The uniform could definitely do with a refresh, but I’d rather they kept something unique: particularly now they have the throwbacks that can be rolled out.
As an aside, as the Patriots dynasty has been so iconic and linked with Belichick, I would love to see a change in direction to represent the fresh start. Keep the silver helmet & pants, but use the red jerseys (keeping the blue as an alt). It would link the 2 eras of Patriots uniforms and help the franchise move on from the Belichick era!
To paraphrase Bart Simpson, ‘If that’s not Flanders, he’s done his homework.’
I find white pepper a much more pleasant ingredient with which to cook. Black pepper is often too harsh, and the appearance of black specks in a lot of dishes is unappetizing.
Black pepper is made of ripened, fermented then dried peppercorn berries, while White pepper is made of unripened, shelled and water soaked seeds of peppercorn berries, love both for different recipes, Chili is a great example
What confuses me is that the source says he has no NDA but the post is rapidly removed. I think the Seahawks will change their uniform, be it not totally. Just like their coach stepping down but not totally ( he will be an advisor to the team). I expect a curious mix of the current set and the throwback so the rendering could actually be nearly accurate. I have always liked all Seahawks uniforms and logos, including the current set, so whatever it will become I will not be disappointed.
Interesting to note that the Reddit post labeled the green on the uniforms as “Apple” green, which is the exact shade of the brighter green of the two that Oregon primarily uses. If that’s the case, the mock up that was posted isn’t showing the correct shade of green, as it’s still just showing the same “Action Green” that’s been in their unis since Nike overhauled them. I’d be interested in seeing what true apple green looks like on this variation. The shade is actually pretty close to what is used on their current throwback.
Unless the Seahawks go back to their throwbacks full time, I think a little “update” to their current set would be great. Clean it up a little and go navy over gray or white for the homes. I’d love to see a change to the number font b/c I think it’s awful. I hate the “open” #4 rather than the #4 as it looks here. It looks unnatural on a uniform.
Nike has a weird thing for the “open 4”, and I agree with you – it doesn’t look right on a sports uniform. If they won’t just go back to the Largent Era throwbacks (far and away their best set, and it isn’t close), this mockup is reasonable. I would go for white numbers but keep gray pants while holding out hope that Nike someday figures out how to make actual silver pants (for the Seahawks, Eagles, Raiders, UGA…)
This is the sort of stuff I love as a uniform geek and sports fan. Always can’t wait till next season to see what new uniforms will come. Skeptical but the mock-up there would be a good uniform. “Apple” green? I thought they called it Action green. Why would there be a royal blue facemask if “King” blue is more navy? Skeptical, but would embrace the surprise change.
Who knows if it’s legit, but it the mockup looks nice.
If this is true, I think it is a definite upgrade. Not the Steve Largent era, cool. But, much better than what they have now. Especially if they go back to a gray helmet and add the seahawks to the shoulders.
You know, with the way so many football players are wearing color-coordinated short-sleeve compression shirts under their pads, here’s hoping the jersey manufacturers recognize this and bring back jersey sleeves.
-C.
I dig the look of that mock up. I wasn’t crazy about this Seahawks uni set when they debuted them but they did grow on me over time. As Paul Lee mentioned the uniforms have been tied to the best period the team has had in their history so I think that makes me naturally overlook some of the flaws. Similar to the Brady era Pats uniforms. Not amazing but solid enough and when you see it on the field it evokes a winning franchise. I’m always scared of a full Nike redesign so a slight update that brings in some elements of the throwbacks to the current set would be a nice compromise to me.
I have always liked the color combo of the current set. Even the neon green kind of gives them their own brand identity. Wish they would go back to silver lids and do away with the stripes that wrap around the chest and go back to the Seahawk on the shoulders. And please, let them be the trendsetters to do away with the mono uniforms.
That mockup would certainly be an improvement…but they already have the correct answer (as do a lot of NFL teams who need new unis)…the throwbacks. The throwbacks on Nike’s template look GREAT! Just use those.
I think the rumored set sounds like an improvement over what they have.
The rumors seem unlikely, if they’re keeping their throwbacks in rotation then why make basically the same uniform with some elements from their current set? It would basically be two of the same thing except with slightly different colors and logos.
I vastly prefer the throwbacks to the present set but it would be hard for the Seahawks to get fully away from the look that is associated with their most successful years. (The Eagles are going to have the same problem despite the overwhelming love for Kelly green over midnight green.) Objectively, moving back closer to royal blue, silver helmets, a less-neonish green and a more conventional number font while keeping the feather accents at the collar are a nice melding of past and present.
I believe the Seahawks’ current primary uniforms were designed around the Nike template that had the horseshoe collar, where all the graphics lined up with the seams. I could definitely see this as Nike pushing them to make a change if they feel it is a pain to produce the jerseys in the current template. Kind of funny since Nike is the reason they are the way they are in the first place.
Looking at the uni tracker link provided for this season, if you ignore preseason games, they only wore the mono blue look 3 times: Week 1, Week 15, Week 17. Otherwise it was two navy over gray, two throwbacks (blue over gray), and one white over navy. Makes perfect sense to me that they were phasing out the mono navy look this year.
I’d also argue that perhaps they were looking for some of the mono navy mojo of years past in the final weeks of the season while fighting for a playoff spot.
You know what? I mis-counted their number of mono-navy games because the Titans wore mono-navy *against* the Seahawks in Week 16, and I mistakenly thought that was Seattle. I’ll adjust the text accordingly now!
I also miscounted throwbacks because they wore them in Dallas. It was one throwback game and one mono neon game.
This would be a great upgrade, though I think they should keep the navy helmets since silver/navy/silver feels too much like Dallas to me (even though they hardly wear navy jerseys).
Regardless of helmet color, my only other nit to pick with this would be that the tv numbers should also have the green outline. Never understood that inconsistency with the current set. Though at this rate it is likely they won’t even have TV numbers.
Also always bothered me that the bottom stripe in their current logo is gray/silver rather than green like it was in the original logo.
I’m all for the TV numbers getting trimmed out in this proof-of-concept – plenty of room for them to stay with the clavicle stripes gone!
I don’t see what others do with the Cowboys comparison.
My big nit is the lack of action/apple on the gray pants, both currently and on this mock-up.
A minor one is the way the logo meets at the back of the helmet. The stand-alone hawk head trails up:
link
…but at the rear on the lids both ‘touch down’:
link
Or is that the “point”? ; )
The back of the helmet, to me,was supposed to represent a Seahawk looking directly at the viewer, with the stripes as the beak…
link
If true, I like the matching silver/grey helmet and pants. Having the “King Blue” for the away pants unfortunately gives them the option to go mono blue at home. I’d like the grey pants with the road white jersey, but maybe they think it would look too much like the Cowboys.
And I think it would actually be a major downgrade if they had mono blue jersey/pants but a silver helmet.
When it is mono navy or mono black, colors that aren’t over saturated, I have a little more tolerance for the mono look, but it has to be mono from helmet to pants, otherwise the helmet sticks out and looks like it doesn’t belong.
Agree it would be better with a blue helmet if they go mono blue. Also, if they wear blue pants with white jersey, a blue helmet would be better than the silver.
I do wonder if maybe teams are starting to play their uni redesigns closer to the vest. When a team goes out in advance and says, “NEW UNIS FOR NEXT YEAR,” we get a ton of mock ups that do a degree of level-setting of what we come to expect of the new design. Then, when the actual unis are unveiled, they usually pale in comparison to what our a rogue designer and/or our imagination has — fairly or unfairly — come to make us expect.
So maybe it actually behooves the team to just surprise unveil something?
Kind of a bummer, because I think that the Seahawks had a pretty good modern uniform. There were a few things I’d personally tweak, but overall, that look definitely got better with age.
Forgot that these uniforms dropped in 2012 lol
I like the mock up better than the current combos, but I’m surprised Paul suggested white pants vs grey. Unless the helmet and numbers are also white, I think grey or silver pants look much better. That goes for the Lions and anyone else with a gold or silver helmet. No white pants with those. Looks off to me.
On the other hand, one could just update the color blue and keep the current set with a silver helmet (and scrap the blue pants) and all would be fine.
I’ve just found over the years that I don’t like grey pants. Makes the game look dreary.
just grey or does that apply to silver or more metallic pants as well ?
Fine with silver. Miss the metallic fabrics.
I know I’m in the minority in this category, but for the majority of teams in the NFL, I hate when the logo on the helmet is the same logo on the shoulder. I think only a handful of teams can get away with this (Chargers, Cowboys Navy, Bengals). One of the reasons I love the current Seahawks set is how they’ve been able to maintain an identity while introducing the PNW First Nations inspired feathers on the shoulders and as a stripe.
That being said, I’d hope they don’t repeat the head of the seahawk on the shoulder. It looks cool on the throwback I guess, but I don’t think the return to that is an upgrade.
I am interested in what exactly the shade of the King Blue would be.
I agree, logos only work on the sleeves if it is either a secondary logo (Ravens) or if the team’s primary logo isn’t on the helmet (Eagles). However, I think the Seahawks uni is an exception to matching logos on the helmet / sleeves simply because of the way it is set up, the logo is sort of part of the sleeve stripe.
Amen, brother. Nothing worse than the helmet, shoulder, and pant hip logo matching.
I don’t think you’re in the minority. I hate that the Patriots have a superfluous Flying Elvis on the shoulders. I’d love it if they had the NE wordmark that they’ve used on fan merch, as seen here:
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As for the Seahawks proposal, that mock-up looks pretty good. The blue helmet always looked so dreary to me, plus I’m a sucker for a sparkly silver helmet. That mock-up also shows their sublimated helmet stripe will be sticking around.
New Coach, New Uniform set?
Holmgren begins in 1999, Change to uniforms in 2002
Carroll begins in 2010. Change to Uniforms in 2012.
Whomever begins in 2024….Change to Uniforms….
Long time reader, first time commenter. I’d love to see a new set of uniforms for the Seahawks. I loved their current set when they first came out but now I am tired and bored with it. Way back in the day, I hated the “old” uniforms but the last few years I’ve been wanting them back and we got that twice this season. I really wish they would go back to the old but if they don’t, I think the mockup above would be sufficient. Especially with the silver helmet.
The Seahawks don’t really need a second shell for a throwback helmet since they can just remove the logos.
Yes, I know. But they could have a second shell for an *alternate* helmet, and I’d find it surprising if they opted not to do that as part of a new uni set.
I’m be surprised too, but I would welcome them returning to the silver hat (and dumping the blue one)
Glad to have one less blue helmet in the NFL. There are currently seven teams with the blue lid. Of course, they would be adding to the five already silver-clad domes.
Not surprisingly, the leaders for primary helmet count are Blue (7), Silver (5), White (5), and Black (4). All other colors have two or less.
Crazy that there was no mention of keeping/changing the current logo, the team’s third version…
The mock-up shows the current but there’s history that I would love to be revisited:
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I would love to see the Seahawks go back to their silver helmets.