In yesterday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers debuted another never-before-worn uniform combination, and their tenth different uniform combo worn this year. The Panthers have played just 12 games.
When the team announced the combination late Friday, I wasn’t the only one to notice. In fact, the TwitterX account “Panthers Uniform Tracker” (who clearly GetsIt™), not only noticed, the account almost willed the combo into existence!
— Panthers Uniform Tracker (@PanthersUnis) November 29, 2024
We recently learned how the Panthers pick their uni combos for the season, as well as week-to-week, and as anyone who follows such things knows, their choice of pants and socks aren’t made until the week of the current game. So, while the team may schedule a silver helmet/black jersey game months in advance, their myriad pants and socks options permit them to customize up to twelve different combinations of britches and hose. (The Panthers have four sets of pants: white, silver, black, and Process Blue, and three sets of socks: white, black, and Process Blue. 4×3=12 different possible combos with a silver helmet/black jersey.) They can repeat that with a silver helmet/white jersey base. And, they have three separate occasions to pair their black helmets and/or Process Blue alternate jerseys to form three additional combos.
If they wanted, they could easily go a 17-game season without once repeating a single combination.
The multiple uniform combinations is a relatively new phenomenon for the Panthers. It wasn’t all that long ago they were rather conservative in their different looks.
As recently as 2017, the team wore a mere four different combinations all season, and that included a league-mandated Color Rush uniform. And if you go back from their first season (1995) all the way through to 2011, the team never wore more than three different combos in a season ever.
2012 marked the first major addition to the uniform set, adding in a pair of black pants. In 2015, they were given blue pants as part of the Color Rush program, although at the time, they never paired the blue pants with any other uniform by the CR. After the CR effectively ended as mandatory in 2017, the Panthers ditched the blue pants, but began a bit of mixing and matching with pants and socks. In 2018, they wore nine different combos.
They’d pair that number back to six and seven different combos in 2019 and 2020 respectively, but were back to nine combos by 2021.
With the lifting of the single shell rule for the 2022 season, the Panthers then added a new black helmet. That allowed them to wear a whopping ten different uni combos that season. And things supercharged again in 2023, when the Panthers changed the shade of Process Blue, they also added back in blue pants as an option. When the 2023 season had ended, the Panthers had worn twelve different uniform combinations in a 17 game season.
As mentioned, yesterday the team wore its 10th different combination (including three never-worn-before-2024 combos) in just 12 games. They could easily eclipse their record of 12 different combos with several games to spare, should they so choose. So, what have the worn so far? Here’s a week-by-week rundown. You’ll note two of the combos (silver/white/white/Process Blue and silver/white/black/black) have been repeats, but the rest are all unique.
WEEK ONE (Saints)
WEEK TWO (Chargers)
WEEK THREE (Raiders)
WEEK FOUR (Bengals)
WEEK FIVE (Bears)
WEEK SIX (Falcons)
WEEK SEVEN (Commanders)
WEEK EIGHT (Broncos)
WEEK NINE (Saints)
WEEK TEN (Giants)
WEEK TWELVE (Chiefs) [Week 11 was “Bye” Week]
WEEK THIRTEEN (Buccaneers)
And that’s what we have for the Panthers so far. The team has already worn alternates three weeks, so their last five weeks are set in terms of helmets and jerseys. Every week going forward will have a silver helmet and either a black or white jersey. Of the 12 possible combos with a silver helmet and white jersey, the Panthers have worn five. That leaves them with seven as yet unworn combos. They’ve only worn two of 12 possible different silver/black combos. With only five remaining weeks, Carolina would need to wear new combos in two of them to tie last year’s record of 12 different sets. Three different ones sets a new record. They could conceivably wear 15 different combinations before the season is over.
The multiple-uni-combos in a season isn’t unique to the Panthers, either. I’ve covered the Bengals and their uni-proclivities, but the Ravens and Jaguars are also both mixing and matching quite a lot. At some point, I’ll examine those two teams as well.
What do you think of the Panthers and their apparent attempt to become the Oregon of the NFL? Do you like that they’re experimenting with not just multiple combos, but never-worn-before-this-year looks as well? Is there any combo you’d like to see that they haven’t worn? Are you a fan of the expanded palette, or should they be wearing less, not more, outfits?
Fire away…
OK, here goes … and Phil and Paul warned you …
The black/black/black/black works – even better if they were to utilize the same logo helmet decals that they use with the silver helmets. Black is a team color, so no BFBS. It looked sharp against Kansas City.
Sliver/black/silver/black is the classic home uni, and it still holds up well.
Silver/blue/silver/black … IMO, the best way to present the blue jersey (and yes, I’m not the biggest fan of it in general). Black and blue socks probably interchangeable.
Silver/white/black/black and silver/white/black/blue are probably my favorite ways to wear the white jersey.
Silver/white/white/blue … similar to silver/black/silver/black, the standard road uniform and still solid 30 years later. Undoubtedly, a little more tolerable for the players early in the season in Charlotte or at a warm-weather road venue.
Silver/white/white/black … was introduced a few years ago – back when the conservative uniform choices made this subtle move look much more bold.
So, assuming silver/blue/silver/whichevercolorsocks is two, that’s eight uni combos. More than enough.
The blue pants don’t work with the rest of the uni elements unless the NFL loosened up the alternate helmet guidelines. I suppose a fan of the color could make it work somewhat aesthetically with black/black/blue/black (but isn’t that kind of forced?) and black/blue/blue/black, but again … eight uni combos while staying within what the NFL is trying to currently claim are their uniform/CR/helmet guidelines.
IMO, that’s enough. What the Panthers are now doing is far from offensive, but it is overkill.
Would love to see Silver/Process Blue/Silver/Black. I have always thought that they should embrace and make the process blue their primary jersey.
Perfectly fine with a team wearing several uni combos as long as the team is still instantly recognizable, which the Panthers have achieved with all of these.
Maybe it’s just from scrolling up & down & looking at these pics all in a row, but I sorta get the feeling like Carolina is just putting on whatever is on top of the clothes bin…
The silver helmet & silver or white pants are fine, but it seems like once you start adding different pants & socks &/or throw in a black helmet & it feels more like just a hodge-podge – I think the wide shoulder & pant stripes & contrasting collars also add to the hodge-podge
Like, when you tell the kids they can dress themselves for school & your daughter comes out wearing elements from four different Disney princess costumes
Yesterday’s combo seems like an invocation of the Chargers best look (white, blue, gold & blue)
Maybe week seven works with black socks & maybe weeks three & five work with white socks (but probably the black pants should only be worn if they go ALL BLACK)
Individually, all of Carolina’s elements look great & Process Blue is a beautiful shade of blue, but mixing & matching just doesn’t seem to work too well, IMO
Long time Panthers fan… I don’t really hate any of the combos, but two I’d like to see are black/white/black/white or blue, and I don’t think they’ve used those before. The aging fan in me still prefers silver/black/silver/black.
With the blue jersey, I think silver pants work best! The black helmet should have the same decals as the silver. The black helmet stripes just don’t match those of any of their pants nor is the cat very visible! I would prefer white or blue pants with the white jersey rather than black pants!
Not the topic: process blue is the *only* blue that the Panthers wear. When going through the week-by-week, it’s probably okay to just say “blue.” It’s kind of cumbersome to read “process blue” every time.
Upvote.
very much agree, same with “athletic gold”
I still think this is exploratory for a minor redesign or redesignation. This team stinks and sometimes the clothes make the man. A fresh look, even if it’s just reworking the old wardrobe into something new, might be what they’re hoping for.
Kind of a stretch to count different socks as a different combo, imo.
Socks (or whatever hosiery the players choose to wear) are most definitely a part of the uniform, and will absolutely count as a different combo.
But are they worn uniformly by all players? If so you have some argument, but with how haphazard socks are wore now, I am saying it is not a different uniform combo. It is noteworthy, but I think uniforms are helmet/jersey/pants, socks, especially in today’s game, are more like an accessory, like undershirts.
Socks are ABSOLUTELY part of the uniform, and all teams are supposed to wear the same hosiery for each game. Those who do not are (supposedly) subject to fines, but compared to the multi-millions most players make, they’ll pay the fine without batting an eye. It’s a pittance.
Nay, the only way to enforce the hosiery mandate is to penalize the team AND the player in some way. Whether that means a 15 yard “unsportsmanlike” penalty at the beginning of each half, or not allowing the player to take the field until the hosiery is uniform (preferably both), clearly something more drastic needs to happen to enforce proper hosiery.
Just because socks aren’t worn “uniformly” or penalties — whatever they may be — aren’t a deterrent, that doesn’t mean socks/hose aren’t a specific element in a uniform combo.
A few decades ago I’d argue shoe color was also part of the uniform, but that’s clearly not the case anymore. Nike (and other shoe makers that also happen to outfit an entire league) no doubt encouraged the “unique” shoe look (and each player negotiates a shoe contract with the shoemakers), so those haven’t been “part” of the uniform in decades.
But socks/hose? That’s STILL part of the uniform and they should be worn uniformly by all players.
Especially since socks/leggings are now typically solid/one color as opposed to a blue or black color block atop an otherwise white sock.
Hot take: I love the Panthers uniforms and hope they never change them (beyond maybe going back to their original logo, which has always been better than their updated, current version). Any and every combo that doesn’t include same color pants and socks is fantastic and worth wearing at least once per season.
My only real issue with most of these is when they wear the same color socks and pants (except for the mono looks) Most of all I dislike the blue pants/blue socks look. When paired with black or white socks, I think it’s a MUCH stronger look.
I’m not going to count socks as part of this, but with this past game’s combo they have worn all 12 combos available with the silver helmet, and add to that three combos with the black helmet (mono black, black/blue/blue, and black/blue/black). 15 out of 24 options. It seems the NFL is somewhat loose on “alt helmet must be wore with alt jersey” rule, especially since the Panthers were given permission to wear it with their standard black jersey. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Panthers add to the list and pair the black helmet with other combos next season when they are eligible to wear it again.
But this has fully devolved into the mess I expected when the league lifted the one shell rule. Mix and match like various college programs. Whenever the Panthers wear their black helmet, my nephews think they are Jaguars.
“Whenever the Panthers wear their black helmet, my nephews think they are Jaguars.”
I’m not sure which team that’s more insulting to…
Black on blue might be my favorite combo yet, it looked so good during that game yesterday. Panthers are probably the one team that won’t rock a primary home uniform look anymore, but if they did black on blue should be their permanent look.
I recently said on one of these pages that the Panthers do mix-and-match well, and almost always look good. Week 13’s silver/black/blue would be the exception to that. To me, the opposite stripes seem to clash here, and the combo looks pretty disjointed. A blue hat would help, but teams don’t need three helmets. The black hat would probably be better.
Not sure if it’s allowed with the alternate helmet, but I think black/white/blue/black would look great
Not allowed.
Yet…
If you look closely you can see WR David Moore had a slightly different painted helmet it seemed. Little to no flake/sparkle finish. Almost a matte gray it seemed at times.
Might as well get a white or process blue helmet to complete it. I like the fact they are doing this. Too bad they are not a team to watch right now.
Your turn, Detroit.
The Panthers can mix and match as much as they like. Because the striping on the jerseys and different pants correspond it will always look good. And because of their shade of blue being different from Detroit you will see them and say right away: Carolina. Detroit can learn a lesson from them with their ugly stripeless pants. I also like what the Bengals are trying to do but the Panthers pull it off better.