The four teams in the NFC North are the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. Three of the four teams will have major uniform additions this year, including a full new uniform redesign for the Lions. Read on for more!
Chicago Bears
The Bears have no announced uniform changes for 2024.
Besides their primary midnight navy home jersey and their white road jersey (along with white and midnight blue pants), in 2023 the Bears wore two additional uniforms: an orange alternate jersey (and orange alternate helmet), and their 1936 throwbacks.
The 1936 throwbacks were first introduced in 2019, and the team has worn them at least once per season since then.
If you like stripes, then you gotta love this look.
And back in 2018, the Bears introduced their alternate orange jersey. From then until 2021, the NFL operated under the single shell rule, so the team simply wore the orange jersey with their regular midnight blue helmet and white pants.
However, when the NFL lifted the single shell rule for the 2022 season, the Bears took advantage by introducing a new orange helmet. The resulting combination was a lot more orange-er.
It was made even more orange with the addition of orange socks. As they have done with the 1936 throwback, the team has worn the orange alternate jersey in each season since 2018, and the past two seasons have paired it with the orange helmets.
The Bears do not issue a uniform schedule, so as of this writing, it is not known when or if the Bears will wear either the orange alternate or the 1936 throwbacks. However, based on the fact that that have worn each at least once in every season since their respective introductions, it’s probably a safe bet the team will do so again in 2024. Especially since the team issued this Tweet earlier this year:
Coming soon to an end zone near you 🤫 pic.twitter.com/Wb61n8kbUs
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 16, 2024
If you look closely at the throwback jersey, you’ll note the team have added the “GSH” initials to the sleeve. This is new for 2024. Obviously, when the team wore that uniform originally, George Halas was alive and well, so those initials wouldn’t have appeared on the jersey. After wearing the 1936 throwback for five seasons without Halas’ initials on the sleeve, the team has added the permamemorial for 2024.
Detroit Lions
No team in the NFC North has made as big a uni-splash in 2024 as the Detroit Lions, who have introduced an entirely new uniform set for the season. Their primary home and road uniforms are shown above, but the team will have many options, including a new alternate uniform. The only “holdover” from any previous set is the 1950’s-inspired throwback uniforms the Lions have been wearing for a number of years (usually, but not always, on Thanksgiving). There’s so much to get to, and so much new, I’m just going to give the highlights.
First off, the team has changed the color of their “Honolulu” blue, to a lighter shade.
Here you go! pic.twitter.com/fyHqT84YJZ
— C S (@Sanchlinz) April 19, 2024
The silver helmet has been redesigned:
In the splash photo, you’ve seen the two new primary (home and road) uniforms. You can read and see more of the road uniforms here. Likewise, here are more photos and an assessment of the new home uniforms here.
Both the home and road jerseys come with multiple pants options — the silver/gray pants are the only ones to have stripes. The team has an additional set of solid blue and solid white (aka stripeless) pants. Thus far, they’ve worn the blue pants twice in the preseason with the white jersey, and the silver/gray pants with the home.
When the new uniforms were introduced, the blue jersey was only shown with the silver/gray pants. Let’s hope they only wear this particular combo with the blue jersey. Here are some additional photos:
The New White Uniform
Interestingly, when the new unis were introduced, the Lions did not show the white jersey paired with the silver/gray pants, but did show it with blue pants and white pants. We can only hope the team will at least pair the white with the silver/gray at some point. Some additional photos:
For their alternate, the team has introduced a black jersey and a new Honolulu blue helmet. This can be paired with either a new set of black pants, or with the blue pants.
Here are some more photos:
And finally, the team will again wear the throwback.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, the Lions have not released a jersey/uniform schedule, so it isn’t known when they will debut the new blue helmet/black jersey, nor with which pants that will be paired. It’s expected the Lions will wear their 1950s throwback on Thanksgiving, although it has yet to be confirmed.
If you want to read Paul’s assessment of the new uniform set, click here.
Green Bay Packers
The good news is the Packers won’t have any changes to their primary home and road uniforms for 2024.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a new look for the team this year. You see, the Packers have introduced a new, white helmet this year:
Why would the tradition-bound Packers, of all teams, introduce a new helmet? Because they can. And not only is the helmet white (with a white facemask), the team has created a new striping pattern: green/white/green. You’d think they might make the center stripe gold, which would 1) match the striping pattern on the white pants they’ll pair with the new helmet, and 2) at least closely resemble the striping pattern on the white jersey (the white jersey actually uses a slightly different pattern: green/white/gold/white/green). Here are some looks at the full “color rush” uniform:
And here’s my assessment. You could argue that they simply removed the gold from their current helmet to create the white helmet, but it makes no sense whatsoever to have a green/gold/green striping pattern everywhere else but not the helmet.
The Packers have also announced they will debut the new helmet on Sunday, October 20, when they host the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field. And in another cringe-worthy move, they’re billing this as a “Winter Warning” game.
In addition to the new helmet, and the current uniforms, the Packers also have an all green (with a plain gold helmet) throwback uniform, which was introduced in 2021.
The team has worn that for the past three seasons, and while there has been no announcement made for this year, it’s expected they’ll wear this uniform for at least one game. That uniform is based on a uniform worn by the Packers in 1953.
Minnesota Vikings
Like the Packers, the Vikings have no changes to their primary uniforms for the upcoming season. And like the Packers, the Vikings will also have a new white helmet (and new white uniform) for 2024.
The team is dubbing the new uniform “Winter Warrior” (is that better or worse than “Winter Warning”?)
But give the Vikings at least a little bit of credit. Instead of simply introducing a new white helmet and pairing it with a white jersey and pants, the team created an entirely new uniform to go with the helmet.
You can read my full assessment and view many more photos here.
The team plans to wear the new uniforms for their annual “winter whiteout” game on December 16, when they host the Chicago Bears in prime time on Monday Night Football. The uniform and date (and location — Minnesota) have all the makings of a great potential snow game. Unfortunately, the Vikings play indoors in a climate controlled environment, so the whole “winter whiteout” loses a bit of potential luster.
Too much white on the Packers’ alternate helmet. Gold stripe down the middle is a no-brainer, should have either a yellow “G” in logo, or gold outline around the oval.
Completely agreed, adding the gold to the stripe and the logo would make it a very nice uniform. The way it is now it looks mismatched and out of place. I would not have minded if they had gone all out with the white and green, jersey and pants included, though I think they would have just ended up looking like the Jets in that case.
The lions did show blue jersey with blue pants on the posted they gave out at the launch event. The video playing at the event itself also said “worn two ways” when showing the blue top.
The Lions pants should all have stripes. Outside of the silver set, they all look like practice pants.
“And not only is the helmet white (with a white facemask), the team has created a new striping pattern: green/white/green.” How is this a new striping pattern if it is the same as their standard helmet?
The Packers could easily fix the issue with the white helmet by eliminating it altogether.
Disappointed that the Pack dubbed the new look “Winter Warning” when “White Cheddar” was right there
Oh, that’s genius.
I hope I can remember to use that to describe them once they make their debut!
Ha, that is a great idea.
No plans for the Bears to go white-over-white on the road? Pity.
Those blue pants…so unnecessary, Lions!
While I applauded the return to a blue facemask…I dunno – I kinda miss the chrome grill.
GB and MIN are solid top-to-bottom in their standard garb…those icy whites an eyesore.
The Bears used to always have a uniform schedule but for some the past two seasons they have not, weird.
Neither the Packers nor the Vikings should have a whiteout uniform, nor white helmets. That said, the striping pattern on the Vikes’ white unitard should be adopted on both regular home and away uniforms.
It pains me to admit this, but to my eye, the Bears stripey-stripey alt is the best uniform in the conference this year.
I know that it gets colder in Wisconsin early, but holding a “Winter Warning” game in October seems a bit rich right?
I’m not sure of the actual reasoning but I wonder if they did it early to avoid wearing all white during an actual snow game.
I think vikings should go back to white facemask with the primary’s
In my day, we called that color on the Packers’ unis yellow. Because it’s not gold. Notre Dame wears gold. The Packers wear yellow. They can fancy the nomenclature up all they want; that doesn’t mean we have to. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
You can call it whatever you want. But the Green Bay Packers colors are Dark Green and Gold.
link
No, the Packers _call_ their colors green and gold. That fact doesn’t affect what the colors _are_, it simply states what the team calls them. In plain English, the color is yellow. “Athletic gold” is a term of art or jargon. It’s therefore perfectly acceptable, especially in a discussion of uniform design, but that fact doesn’t make the color yellow not yellow.
You can certainly call the color “yellow”. Just like you can call the Rams light-grayish color “bone” (as the team does) or “dishwater” as we like to.
But the Packers it “gold” — and it has been this color for nigh on a century. Ask any Packers fan what the team’s colors are and they’ll say “green and gold” without hesitation.
“Yellow” (to me) is what Oregon wears, or what the Rams wear. Gold can range anywhere from metallic/old gold (think Saints or Notre Dame) to athletic gold (Packers, Steelers, Oakland A’s). Just like there are various shades of blue (powder, Columbia, royal, navy, midnight, aqua, etc.) so too are there various shades of gold.
So feel free to call it what the Packers wear “yellow.” I will continue to call it gold.
“Gold” = “athletic gold” = “yellow”. Yellow being the color associated with deceit and cowardice, nobody wants to call their team cowardly or deceitful. Steelers are Black & Gold. Packers are Green & Gold.
“Old Gold” or “Vegas Gold” = metallic gold, like the 49ers or Saints.
Renaming it for your own personal tastes doesn’t change the fact that the name of the color is gold, according to the teams. I can call a dog a food processor, but it doesn’t make it so, and I would be wrong.
I really don’t like the Bears orange helmet. I wouldn’t mind a white one. That could be fun with a different logo
The polar bear uniform looks awesome. The orange pumpkin head look is gross. I really like the 1940’s Monsters of the Midway jerseys but the McCaskey’s never seem to care what I think.
I don’t know which I dislike more: the Lions BFBS set or the Packers WFWS helmet.
Don’t like the Vikings WFWS set either.
Love the Bears orange jersey when paired with their regular helmet, but man do I hate the orange shell.
I hate to say it, but the NFL looked a lot better when they had the one-shell rule.
The relaxing of the helmet rules have created a situation where teams get unnecessary helmets. A white horn logo on a white shell is completely asinine. And Green Bay, I’m sorry but you’re a blue blood franchise. This white helmet and uniform nonsense is beneath you.
Aren’t the Vikings wearing their Throwbacks this year?
I am wondering the same
Vikings go to purple and silver out of nowhere? They’re not Kansas State. Horrible idea. A great addition for them would be yellow pants to wear with white jersey and purple helmet. Purple and yellow. Since 1961. Simple.