[Editor’s Note: Today we continue with a new feature: “UniWrap24.” This series will look at various uniform anomolies, machinations, combinations, or other uni-related tidbits for the NFL during the 2024 NFL Season.]
Yesterday, we took a look at the Carolina Panthers, who earned the dubious distinction of having tied the record for most uniform combos worn during a single NFL season.
Today, we’ll look at the opposite side of the coin: which teams wore the fewest uniform combinations?
Before we reveal those teams, if you were to take a guess, which teams might you think topped the list? Packers? Bears? Chiefs? Colts? When we picture these teams, we think of all-time classic looks, and those teams almost always wear their primary home and road uniforms each week. The NFL no longer mandates teams wear “Color Rush” uniforms — though several teams still have a “CR” uniform and will break them out on occasion — so at least in theory, a team could wear as few as one uniform for an entire season (obviously such a team would need to wear white at home and on the road, face only opponents who wear dark jerseys at home), but two (home and road) uniforms would be a more realistic figure.
Besides thinking of teams with “classic” home/road looks, we need to consider teams with multiple sets of pants, socks or helmets, which would pretty much eliminate them from consideration, so for example the Steelers — who manage to look great every week — have a set of black pants, which they pair with their alternate (CR) jersey. If teams have a throwback (especially a throwback uniform with a different color helmet), those teams are probably going to have several different uni combos. The Steelers only have one helmet shell (black), but they also have a throwback, so that puts them out early on.
And then there are the teams, like the Lions, who have multiple uniform options, but who seemed to wear Monolulu Blue at home, mono-white on the road, with the BFBS alternate also being worn the maximum allowable amount of times.
Got your guesses ready yet?
For the 2024 NFL regular season, only two teams wore the fewest number of different combinations, all tied with three uni combos in total. You’ve probably guessed the first one, but what about the second?
For purposes of this article, I am not including any special patches or memorials added to the uniform as a “separate” uniform, if all the other elements are equal. For example, teams like the Steelers, who played on Christmas day, wore a special crossed candy-cane patch. This would not be considered a separate uniform combination. Nor will any teams whose players “went rogue” as it were with their hosiery be penalized. So, if the Chargers all wore blue socks, but a couple players wore white compression pants, that would not count against them as a separate uniform combination. However, if a team modifies only its helmet, that would count as a separate uniform combination (such as the Cowboys adding a red stripe), that counts as a separate combo.
Who are those two teams then?
Las Vegas Raiders
It should probably come as no surprise that the tradition-bound Raiders would wear the fewest uniform combinations. Their uniforms have changed little since former owner Al Davis put the team in silver and black back in 1963. Their home (black jersey/silver pants) and road (white jersey/silver pants) uniforms are among the NFL’s best, and if the NFL is still around in 2063, I could see the Raiders looking much the same as they did in 1963 or 2013. The Raiders do have a throwback jersey — which they wore during the 1963, 1964 and 1970 seasons — with silver numbers outlined in black. That uniform was worn once in 2024, giving the team a total of three different uniform combinations.
So what was the other team with only three different uni combos in 2024?
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals, despite getting new uniforms in 2023, and having two helmets (plus three different jerseys, pants and socks), wore only three specific combos. Their insistence on going mono may be detrimental to those who possess eyes, but their refusal to mix and match any of their individual uniform elements lands them squarely on this very short list. They did wear their BFBS alternates the maximum number of permissible wearings, but they have stubbornly stuck to three specific uni combos — and only three specific combos — for the past two seasons.
That’s it. There were only two teams who wore three different uniform combos for the 2024 NFL season.
“But wait!” you say, “Didn’t the Chiefs also only wear three different combos this past season?”
I actually thought so too — but it’s not quite the case. For most of the season, the Chiefs wore red/red/white/red at home, and red/white/red/white on the road. For two games, they wore white pants on the road with their white jerseys (their best look, IMO). But… they actually wore different socks for each of those games. For a Week 3 SNF game against the Falcons, the Chiefs wore red/white/white but in that game, paired those with their white socks. The also went red/white/white against the Steelers on Christmas Day, but paired the red/white/white with their red socks. By so doing, the team ended up with four different uni combos.
How about the Colts? Similar to the Chiefs, the Colts mostly stuck with white/blue/white/blue at home, mono-white on the road, and one “Indiana Nights” alternate. But they too, once wore blue socks with the all white uniform, giving them a total of four for the season. Of course, the Colts should always and only wear their royal socks with white pants, home and road. But this is the new NFL, where “icy whites” is de rigueur for teams with white helmets. Sigh.
And there you have it — a grand total of two teams wore the fewest uni combos in 2024. Will we ever see a team stick to just two different unis throughout an entire season again? It’s possible, but probably not very likely. Classically attired teams will still wear their primary home and road uniforms for most of their games, but with alternate helmets, throwbacks, color rush, etc. still a big part of the NFL, we’ll probably always see at least one or two teams wearing an alternate going forward.
Did you guess the Raiders and Cardinals? Who do you think might be most likely to wear the fewest uni combos for 2025? And do you think we’ll ever see another season where a team wears “just” their home/road uniform and nothing else?
Great stuff – but, just curious….when were socks deemed an official part of a team’s uni combo? Was there a defining moment here on UniWatch or elsewhere? I go to gridiron database a lot, and notice the detail there, but I feel like socks weren’t really considered until maybe this year or last. Still getting used to this extra element in articles.
It definitely feels like a product of this year. I don’t know if that’s because this is our first football season without Paul, or just a natural evolution of how we write about unis. I do think that teams like the Panthers including socks in their uniform announcement posts, lends credence to that second possibility.
I think since socks are just one color now they are an essential part to the uniform. Before color rush teams would always have the sock split between color up top and white below
The Buccaneers when they had their digital alarm clock unis come to mind as the first i noticed switching up socks.
Not sure when we started talking about socks, but considering how many teams employ socks to create the dreaded leotard look, I think socks should be considered part of the uni now. It’s unfortunate that so many teams do socks wrong.
“when were socks deemed an official part of a team’s uni combo?”
I’m not sure there’s an “official” date, but I’ve been counting them for years. To me, hosiery is ESSENTIAL and not to count it would be a dereliction of duty — I mean, UW’s logo is a stirrup! Socks/hose have always been a big part of uniforms as far as I’m concerned. And you can’t tell me that a team looks the same regardless of what socks they wear — just take the Commanders, for example.
Burgundy pants worn with white hose (link) looks completely different than burgundy/burgundy (link).
And if teams are going to have multiple sets of sock colors, then they must absolutely be counted as part of the uniform.
Like the Panthers, for example.
Despite wearing silver helmets, white jerseys and white pants, the team has created three different looks just with socks:
S/W/W/W: link
S/W/W/Blue: link
S/W/W/Black: link
Love it, Phil! Thanks!
I don’t understand Arizona’s insistence on mono unis and I really don’t understand why black is part of their color palette.
If they paired the white jersey with the red pants, they would look awesome. It’s close to what KC does -and KC is one of the best looking teams in the league – but the white helmets would set Arizona apart.
Good on the Raiders for sticking to the basics. As I’ve said on other threads, the Raiders do more with 3 unis than other teams (Panthers, Ravens, Broncos, etc) do with 3 or 4 times that many.
I’d also happily take the Red Jersey and White Pants! Even the black pants would be an improvement over the Red ones.
They insist on going mono because they like it. It really is that simple.
Maybe but judging by social media (which I’ll grant may not reflect the majority) seems like even their fans want them to mix it up some. I don’t see the harm in a 17 game season that they throw a bone and play one home game with the red over white and a one road game with white over red. I’m fine with never mixing and matching the black uniform.
I’m holding out hope because the Patriots seemed to finally see the light this season, but then again the Saints actually regressed as did the Lions.
I knew the Raiders were one. I didn’t know the Cardinals were also on the list and would’ve never guessed that one.
The Cardinals uniforms are terrible but would be instantly better if they wore white pants with the red jerseys and red pants with the white jerseys. Or at least red socks with the mono-whites. I know, I know, the white jerseys and pants have stripes and the reds do not, so they wouldn’t be a perfect fit if mixed and matched, but they would still look better overall. So sad that they just updated their look two years ago and these uniforms are already dated and needing a redesign as soon as 2028 arrives.
Wow, I guessed Raiders and Chiefs. Arizona is definitely a surprise.
As a Raiders fan I had that one locked down when I saw the heading. Would not have come up with Arizona as the other team. I was thinking Colts before I clicked.
The Steelers don’t have an alternate helmet, and did not wear their color rush this season, so I believe they only wore 3 combos as well.
* Standard white jerseys
* Standard black jerseys
* Block numeral black jerseys (vs. Jets)
I’m interested to know what other uni combos you have them as wearing this season.
They wore color rush vs Giants in Week 8
Harrison beat me to it, but the Steelers wore four combos: Primary home and road, CR and “Super Bowl IX-X” throwbacks (which have a gray facemask). They’ve also worn — but not this season — the block numeral throwbacks with a black facemask.
But four combos for the Steelers this season.
I hope the Cardinals decide to mix it up next season. I actually like their jerseys and they could really stand out with the right combos. Black/white/black/red would be beautiful.
Sounds a lot like another red bird team who’s city starts with A…
It could be a Patriots moment; the Patriots’ went from meh to pretty great looking this season when they dropped wearing the mono navy all the time and wore the gray/silver pants for road games. I think the white over navy still looks good but white over silver still looks better for most road games.
I think the problem is the pants would work mixed but clearly the red pants were made for the red jerseys and the white pants for the white jerseys. Red over white I don’t think would look weird, but the white over red might a little because the red pants are so plain. They really needed to make both sets match so they could mix better.
My first thoughts were Raiders and Steelers. Just goes to show you how much of an afterthought the Cardinals are.
God i hate the blood clot unis. Kyler is so vocal about the unis before. Not understanding how they go two years like this. Must be what he wanted
IMO, I don’t think the socks should be considered part of the uniform combination.
Fair enough. Care to elaborate on why?
If we’re talking college (where “high” socks are not mandated), then I’m in agreement with you. But in the pros, they are. If a team has (like in my Carolina Panthers example) three different color socks, why wouldn’t you consider those part of the uniform? Do you consider helmets a part of the uniform?
Not looking to be argumentative, I’m genuinely curious why you don’t consider socks a part of the uniform.
I 100% agree that socks should be considered, but it feels a bit pointless sometimes when I see that players on the same team are wearing different coloured socks. CeeDee Lamb wearing white while his teammates are in blue springs to mind.
Cardinals whites just look “Ohio State” to me every time & not in a good way.
I grew up in St. Louis with Cardinal football. The helmet is simple, unique, & classy enough.
Red and white with black line as part of stripe. That’s the Cardinals. link
Somehow they’re using the same color scheme now & totally missing it.
I don’t mind deferring to old heads on many matters, but I feel less positive about it when I learn that St. Louis had two Cardinals teams in the two major American sports for 28 seasons. Wtf was that about?
It’s simple, really.
The St. Louis (baseball) Cardinals were one of the original franchises in MLB, and have been the same continuous franchise operating in St. Looey for 100+ years.
The St. Louis (football) Cardinals were one of the founding franchises in the NFL, but they began life in Chicago and were well established in 1920 when the NFL began. They played in Chicago as the Chicago Cardinals until 1959, when they moved to St. Louis, where they played as the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960 until 1987, after which the moved to Phoenix (and first played there in 1988 as the Phoenix Cardinals, before changing to Arizona Cardinals a few years later).
That they happened to be called Cardinals and played in St. Louis was purely coincidental. Unlike the New York Giants (football and baseball), as well as a few other teams that either merged or folded who also shared city and team names.
I actually find it odder that the CFL had two teams with essentially same name (Roughriders and Rough Riders) — but both teams had histories that started long before the CFL was even a league.
Just one of those cool quirks in sports.
I understand the historical context. I don’t understand why they didn’t consider two things when it was time for the Chicago Cardinals to move:
1) Don’t move to St. Louis, or
2) Change the Cardinals name.
The CFL definitely isn’t a good example of how to name teams properly. The RedBlacks might actually be the worst team name in history.
It was a completely different “time” in 1959 (Cardinals last year in Chicago). Franchises were property of their owners (and still are), but the owners didn’t necessarily feel they *owed* the city in which they were located anything. There were no Houston->Tennessee, Baltimore->Indy, Cleveland->Baltimore kerfuffles when teams moved from their cities. And in almost every instance, team owners kept the team name when they moved, and no one really thought much about it. Back then, owners didn’t ask cities (and their taxpayers) to fund brand new stadia for them, or build infrastructure, etc. So no one thought twice when the Cardinals franchise up and moved to St. Looey, and kept the name. Again, that a baseball team with the same name happened to already play there was just coincidence. I always thought it was actually pretty cool (when I grew up, the Cardinals were always in St. Louis) both teams from the same city shared a name — it wasn’t until I was older and began to learn MLB/NFL history that I realized the Cardinals football team wasn’t originally located in St. Louis.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is back in 1959, no one thought twice about (1) moving the franchise to St. Louis, and (2) changing the name after the move. There is way too much equity (even back then) in the “Cardinals” name to just pick something else when the team moved. I don’t think anyone even batted an eye or felt a new name was needed back in the late 80s when the Cardinals of St. Louis became the Cardinals of Phoenix.
It’s a recent phenomenon that some teams rebrand with new names upon relocation (Sonics->Thunder, Browns->Ravens).
But usually teams’ moves will keep the team name, even if it’s out of place: It’s why you have teams like the “Jazz” in Utah, (Trolley)”Dodgers” in LA etc. In the past several decades, though, that’s all changed, and some teams who move do voluntarily adopt new names.
Anyway, that’s all a roundabout way of saying back in 1959, neither of your two (valid) points would have even registered, either with the owners or the public.
Times have changed now.
I like the Cardinals white uniforms, but I usually like teams with white helmets wearing all white. Well except for the socks. The Cardinals would look better with red socks, just like the all white Colts uniform would look better with blue socks. And even though I’d prefer they didn’t go with the gray stripes, it’s still a good look. I thought they should have used some yellow in place of gray, to match the yellow bird beak.
Also, even though I’m not a fan of BFBS, it is technically one of their colors. Their big screw up is their all red uniform with the white helmet. Pair the red jersey with white pants, and get rid of the giant “Arizona” across their chest, and they might have something good.
Lastly, if they wore the black helmet and black pants with red jersey and red socks, it might be a good look. I’d like to at least see them try it, because it can’t be any worst than the all red or all black.
Raiders throwback white jerseys with silver numbers are awesome.
Hard to believe the Lions wore more than 3 uni combos since they have been so mono-loony all season. But, yes, that one time with the silver pants against the Bucs put them at 4 combos.
Great article, my guess were the Raiders and the Chiefs, completely forgot about the Cardinals as I want to ignore their horrible current uniforms. Congratulations to the Panthers and the Bengals for doing the opposite of this: colorful to watch week in week out. But the Raiders deserve a lot of praise as well for sticking with their set.
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