Good morning Uni Watchers, and a Happy Humpday to one and all.
This past season, 20 of the 32 NFL teams wore throwback uniforms, which I believe is the most to be worn in a single season since 1994 (when the NFL celebrated its 75th Anniversary). As usual, most of the throwbacks are drop-dead gorgeous, and even if you’re not a fan, it’s still great to get a look at the uniforms of yore — even if they need to make concessions to modern fit and tailoring. This isn’t a ranking (though that might be fun to do), but rather just a look back at the myriad eras represented by the throwbacks, from the 1920s through the turn of the century. And of course, the one team that has a throwback they didn’t wear in 2024? The Lions.
There’s a LOT to get to, so let’s just get to the throwbacks!
Atlanta Falcons
This glorious uniform is a throwback to the Atlanta Falcons’ inaugural season (1966). And there are few, if any, throwbacks where the throwback uniform is so far superior to the primary uniforms. If there were ever a team to say “MAKE THESE PERMANENT,” it’s the Falcons. The team wore these the maximum number of three times in 2024.
Chicago Bears
The Bears wore this throwback only once during the 2024 season. It’s a throwback to the 1936 season, although owing to modern uniform design and tailoring, it’s more of a fauxback. Still, a stripe-eriffic uniform and one of the best old-time throwbacks ever created.
Cleveland Browns
This one is more of a fauxback (or even harkback) than a true throwback, since their original white helmet did not have stripes. It’s a representation of the 1946 uniform, the team’s inaugural season. While I appreciate the effort, I actually prefer the Browns’ regular primary uniforms. The team wore these three times, twice of which were on the road, in 2024.
Dallas Cowboys
This is a throwback to the uniform worn by the Cowboys during their original NFL season of 1960 (and worn through 1963). Unlike the other team who traditionally plays on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys actually broke theirs out for Turkey Day this year. Not as iconic as their primary uniform, but still a great look. It was worn only for the Thanksgiving game.
Denver Broncos
Of all the NFL throwbacks, these may be my favorite! The team calls them “1977-inspired” since the 1977 season was the first time the team reached the Super Bowl, and they were worn for a number of years; however, the sock pattern was only worn in 1976 and 1977. The team wore these twice, both times against AFC West opponents (Raiders, Chiefs), so those games felt like true throwback games, since the Raiders’ and Chiefs’ current uniforms differ very little from what they wore in 1977.
Green Bay Packers
Because the Packers have been wearing their current style (give or take) for more than sixty years, any throwbacks they introduce need to delve deeply into their past. The current throwbacks, featuring gold helmets over a mono-green uniform, were worn during 1950 (and they’d wear similar uniforms for the early 1950s). While I love seeing them, let’s face it — the uniform the team has basically been wearing since 1961 is their best. These were worn once in 2024.
Jacksonville Jaguars
This was one of the more eagerly awaited throwbacks, which the Jaguars introduced this past off-season. They’re not the inaugural uniforms worn by the team (1995), but a slightly different version first worn in 1998. They were worn twice this season. I’m sure I’m not the only one who hope the team uses these as the basis for their next redesign, which can’t come soon enough.
Las Vegas Raiders
Da Raidahs are another extremely tradition-bound team, and are another NFL squad whose uniforms have changed little in the past 60 years. The team wore white jerseys with silver numbers outlined in black for three seasons (1963, 1964, 1970). While I actually prefer them to their current road uniforms, many folks feel there is not enough contrast between the silver numbers (despite some fairly thick black outlines) and the white jerseys. These were worn just once this past season.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins actually have two throwback uniforms, both of which go back to their first season in the AFL, which was 1966. They’re supposed to wear beautiful aqua/orange/white striped socks with both dark and light, but many players opt not to, unfortunately. The aqua throwbacks were worn once, while the white throwbacks were worn twice (once at home, once on the road). Like many of these throwbacks, any time they’re worn, folks want them made permanent.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings haven’t identified any specific year to which these uniforms throw back, but this style (gray facemask, Northwestern stripes) was worn for many seasons. These are technically fauxbacks, since the team pairs them with their current helmet, which is a different shade of purple (those uniforms had famously mis-matching purples between helmets and jerseys). The Vikings wore these just once this past season.
New England Patriots
Over the years, the Patriots have actually worn a couple different Boston/New England Patriots throwbacks, but their current set most closely resembles those worn between 1984 and 1992. The Patriots wore these twice during the 2024 season. Unfortunately, the uniform is supposed to be worn with white red/blue striped socks, but as you can see from the photo above, the players mostly wore solid white socks, although a few wore solid red (a much better overall look than solid white, even if not period-correct). Still, the Pat Patriot uniforms are gorgeous and, proper socks or not, look better than the Pats’ current uniforms (or really, any of the various “Flying Elvis” editions).
New Orleans Saints
In theory, these are throwbacks to 1967 (the Saints first year of existence), but the “old gold” on the throwback isn’t particularly close to the original shade, and obviously isn’t even close to the metallic gold the team currently wears (look at the helmets). Still, even with the horrible mismatched golds, these are still miles better than the team’s current uniforms. I’ve argued these (and the color rush fauxbacks) are a good starting point for a full redesign. The Saints wore this uniform once in 2024.
New York Giants
The Giants wore two distinctly different throwbacks in 2024, although one of them is more of a frankenuni (using elements from the 1920s-1930s uniform years), while the second is an outstanding throwback to the 1980s-1990s uniforms, right down to the NOB fonts and mismatched blue helmet/jersey. The red jersey throwback was introduced this season in celebration of the Giants 100th anniversary season; whether they’ll wear it again (it’s “good” for four more years) remains to be seen. Each uniform was worn only once.
New York Jets
In essence, the Jets actually introduced two throwbacks this year — their regular set are throwbacks to the “Sack Exchange” era, while the uniform shown above is their Super Bowl III (1968-69) uniform. It resembles the Jets uni set worn from 1998-2008, but the green on those uniforms was more hunter than kelly green. These more accurately represent the uniforms when Joe Willie Namath and his guarantee changed the face of football forever. The “Classic” (as the team calls it) was worn once in 2024.
Philadelphia Eagles
Speaking of kelly green, the Eagles have hit a home run (pardon the mixed-sport metaphor) with these. They represent the uniforms worn by the Eagles from 1985-95. I know some are bothered that the kelly green helmet and jersey match “too well” (and may be a shade or two lighter than the originals), but they look pretty good to me. The Eagles won’t be redesigning their primary uniforms any time soon, but if and when they do, they could do worse than these. They were worn twice this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
You’d be forgiven if you looked quickly at the Steelers throwback and think it’s their normal home uniform, because basically the only differences between these and their current uniforms are the block-style uniform numbers and gray facemasks. Back in 1977, they changed the cages to black, and the current futura bold italic font came in 1997. By adding the gray cage to this year’s throwback, the Steelers were invoking their 1974 look, which was the season they won their first Super Bowl and began a dynasty. The Stillers wore these once this season.
San Francisco 49ers
Like the Dolphins, the 49ers have two throwbacks (one is still considered “color rush”), both of which are anachronisms — they approximate the throwbacks worn by the 49ers in 1994 (and in which they won their last Super Bowl), but those were poor attempts to throw back to 1955. Be that as it may, the red throwbacks were worn twice and the white throwbacks once. It’s one of the few throwbacks that are inferior to the current set worn by the team.
Seattle Seahawks
Along with the Patriots, Buccaneers and Eagles, these were the most eagerly anticipated throwbacks once the NFL scrapped the one-shell rule. These are supposed to approximate the uniforms worn by the Seahawks from 1983-2001, and were mostly seen under the dank and dim lighting of the old Kingdome. Aside from the fact that the throwbacks are beautiful, seeing them in full sunshine has (literally) allowed them to be seen in a new light. *Chef’s Kiss*. These were worn twice this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For almost the entire time the Buccaneers wore these as their regular uniforms, the team was not very good (though they did make the playoffs a few times), so for some reason, fans of the Bucs consider them either as unlucky or cursed (or worse). But they are glorious, and deserve to be seen more than once a season. They were worn from 1976 (although the team wore only white jerseys that season) through 1996, and brought back as throwbacks in 2009. The team would wear them once a season from 2009 through 2012 (when the one-shell rule would go into effect), and returned them to the rotation in 2023 and 2024, when they would also be worn just once each year.
Tennessee Titans
It was a somewhat surprising turn for the Titans to introduce these as throwbacks last season, viewed by some as an almost spiteful move against the Titans’ former home of Houston (especially considering the Titans barely acknowledged their roots as the Oilers). But regardless of why they were brought back, they’re still drop-dead gorgeous. And the Titans were actually the Tennessee Oilers for their first two seasons in Tennessee — and these are pretty much exactly what the Titans wore in 1997 when they were still known as the Oilers. So the team touts these as Tennessee Oilers throwbacks, even though the franchise wore this exact style uniform in Houston from 1990-96. The team wore these throwbacks just once during the 2024 season.
With a little effort, all 32 teams could have throwbacks, which I’d love to see the NFL turn into a thing: let’s have all teams wear throwbacks for Thursday Night Football going forward! If they could subject us to two seasons of “Color Rush” games, we could certainly handle Throwback Thursdays!
Your thoughts?
Keep hoping that the Bills bring back their 90s uniforms as throwbacks. Probably need to wait for opening of new stadium before there’s any major changes to the current uniforms.
I don’t know when the new stadium opens, but they should introduce 90s throwbacks during the final year at the Ralph. Bring back the standing Buffalo throwback for that final year too.
I loved the throwbacks this year.
I wonder whether my love derives from the fact that many were the unis of my youth, when I first became a fan of football and uniforms in the mid 70s. Pats, broncs, Steelers, bucs, oilers, eagles, vikes, fins, Seahawks, & jets.
Aesthetics is a matter of tastes/culture. I feel ALL these unis are so much better than current sets, but are they?
Agree with you 100% for the same reason.
Good point of view. Memory has a tendency to color everything rosy. I did like all these throwbacks and some are better than current uniforms, but I like the new uniform in Denver, I like the Chargers LA identity and the Seahawks have grown on me as well. Bengals and Panthers do excellent stuff with their new threads and helmets. So keep mixing it up: use both throwbacks and current uniforms depending on the occassion. This was a relatively good NFL season from an uniform perspective.
As you said, aesthetics is a matter of taste, but here’s my two cents: I typically prefer a team to try something new, if they are going to “try something new”, but maybe I should say “try something different.”
What I mean to say is: I don’t hate that the lions basically undesigned what they had before, because it’s “different” from what they had prior, but I give more credit to the broncos, who tried something new and it actually looks good. This approach of “different” allows for a mix of old school and new at any given time. I’d hate for the niners to try something too new or modern, when they look best in something simple (same goes for packers, bears, colts…) but I don’t fault the Vikings or eagles for their current looks, despite various reasons that I find them inferior to their more simple traditional looks. I think often a harmony can be reached between the two looks. If the eagles kept their exact uniforms re: design, and color swapped the midnight green elements for Kelly green, and prioritized the use of silver over white, they’d have an amazing uni set. If the vikes reworked their number font so it was bolder and a bit larger, then added the yellow stroke around it, and made the pants striping match the sleeve striping (vis a vis width and spacing, not mimicking the boat shape). They’d have a great looking set as well. Now the saints: they don’t ruffle too many feathers with their current set because it’s not trying anything interesting, however, the throwback is a thing of beauty and far superior to the current. For me I think it’s the darker gold and the massive number font. That said, I think their black helmet is a couple of tweaks away from being a worthy addition to their wardrobe.
The takeaway I guess is that details matter. It’s easy to just plug in a traditional uniform template and have something that looks nice, it’s also easy to throw a lot of new ideas at the wall and piece together what works, but at the end of the day, neither of these will be elevated to glory without attention to detail.
I’ll admit that I tend to prefer older “classic” uniforms. I’m sure a lot of it is because they’re the uniforms I grew up with, but I also think they weren’t trying to force the design elements to “tell a story.” Just be a good design.
That said, I agree that some of the uniforms I think are among the worst right now have elements that I like. For example, the Titans have one of the worst unis in the league BUT I really like their color palette. Lose the shoulder yokes, fix the number font, and change the slashes on the pants to actual stripes and the uniform would be dramatically better. Same with the Texans – aside from the two alts, their unis aren’t bad. But the shoulder “horns” are one of those attempts at a “story” that make the whole thing feel forced. Also I hate the Texans’ logo, but that has nothing to do with new vs. old. I’ve been hating the Falcons logo for 50 years.
I think you’re spot on and a lot of “modern” designs fail because the attempts at conceptual things (storytelling and/or unique/innovative elements) fall short of the execution. Sometimes the execution just can’t live up to the concept, like the Vikings number font – it would be very hard to maintain the concept but implement it in a way that works – and sometimes it’s simply a matter of more thoughtful execution of the concept – the Texans horn sleeves come to mind for me. When it comes to traditional designs, I believe the simplicity forces good execution where it’s necessary and limits opportunities for failure in other areas. If the entire design concept is collegiate font numbers, stripes on the sleeves and pants, and a logo on an otherwise plain helmet it behooves a designer to come through with an interesting logo and excellent color scheme, to really consider the contrast and compliment of how the colors are used as well as make sure the ratios of the colors and the color blocking of all the uniform elements look good together.
My humble opinions:
Make them permanent and throw the current primary set in the trash: ATL, JAC, MIA, MIN
Keep them around as an occasional thing (status quo): CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, GB, NYG (20s), PHI, SEA, TB
Never need to see them on field again personally: LV, NE (my distaste for Pat Patriot knows no bounds), NO, NYG (80s), NYJ, PIT, SF, TEN (just not a fan of powder blue and red, sorry)
I completely agree, although I’d like to see the Creamsicle 2-3 times per year. I could even be convinced to bring Seattle’s back full time.
Wait so if that awful shade of gold doesn’t even match the original uniforms the Saints are throwing back to, why are they wearing it???
“… that awful shade of gold…”
I’m Calling It Brass.
And I’m fine with the mismatches employed here (and elsewhere – ala NYG helmets).
YVVM ; )
Mismatches can be fine, even good, if the hue is one that looks good when multiple shades are paired together. Blue, green, purple, and even red are the first I think of. With gold and any other metallic colour, I think it looks terrible.
Nike can’t reproduce a lot of shades from the 70s because of the type of (miracle space age super duper 12.732% lighter) fabrics they use now; see also the Bucs’ current pewter pants and the original ones from the late 90s/early 2000s. So all we can hope for these days is approximation. Unfortunately Nike consistently either goes too light or too dark.
With the exception of the Browns/Packers, most of these are way better than the primary unis. I never was a fan of the 49’ers drop shadow era. But, they aren’t horrible. Being a Bears fan, I was excited the first time they wore their throwbacks. That excitement has worn off now and wish they would retire these. Wish the Giants would switch to the Lawrence Taylor era unis full time. They are almost there now that they have switched to white pants. I’m still waiting on Buffalo to do the Jim Kelly thing. I absolutely loved it when they switched to their current set. But, throwing that uniform in the mix would be great. They may not due to the fact they lost four straight Super Bowls in them.
I hate the 49ers throwbacks with a passion. I can’t even fully explain why, but it might have to do with them letting those things take over their classic uni set in the 90s and then completely subsume them before morphing into the awful Jeff Garcia-era unis with the wrong shade of red and the heavy drop shadow everywhere.
It’s just so obvious to me that the Montana-era 49ers look was perfect that anything else the team wears is going to look cheap and clumsy by comparison.
Eagles, Seahawks, Broncos should go back to those throwbacks.
Dolphins and Steelers should go back to those throwbacks with colored facemaks.
Jaguars should throwback to ’95 jerseys with block numbers.
Falcons should flip the jersey and helmet color.
Didn’t those original Jaguars ’95 jerseys with block numbers have three layers? I still remember how weird that looked at the time, since almost no teams did that, whereas in other sports you often saw it (Florida Marlins; Miami Heat). Soon after that other teams started doing it, like the 49ers with that extra gold layer added to the shadowed digits.
This isn’t the case for all the throwbacks, but the thing that strikes me about the ones in the header image (IMO the best ones) is how VIBRANT they are. Yes, I’m sure I like them in part because they’re what I grew up on, but I also like that they bring color as opposed to some of the more muted/darker “modern” designs.
People tend to forget that in the era of lower resolution color TV sets, you really had to make colors pop a lot more than now. Now that everything is ultra HD, teams play a lot more with dark fabrics and muted colors but it was sort of unthinkable in the 70s.
I like all of these (Saints, PLEASE fix the gold mismatch), but the only two I would put in the category of “must change to throwback permanently” are Seattle and Atlanta. The current set for both have worn out their welcome.
Throwback Thursday would be amazing! (Would also get fans paying more attention to the Thursday games). Would be fun to theme it certain era’s each year but that would be hard with how teams have all made design changes on their own timeline.
Hoping Phil writes a Throwback Thursday article and goes into detail about his favorite throwback uniform of each NFL Team!
Also if the NFL does Throwback Thursday they could definitely all be color on color matchups if planned right. So many bright colored throwbacks.
“Hoping Phil writes a Throwback Thursday article and goes into detail about his favorite throwback uniform of each NFL Team!”
Oh, I will definitely write a piece on this proposal — it’s why I only mentioned it very briefly here. And yes, there could easily be color vs. color throwback games. (In fact, the graphic I made for yesterday’s MMUW shows how great a Titans (Oilers) vs. Broncos throwback game would look: link)
Taking it another level, making these all division games and maybe even trying to lineup throwback eras would be really cool!
Great piece! Reading the entry on the Bears brought up a genuine question for me on the distinction of throwback vs fauxback. I think I’ve always wrongly considered this a rather fitting (no pun intended) throwback. Particularly since modern template and tailoring demand a certain degree of uniformity (again, NPI) that is out of control of each franchise. I always subconsciously categorize fauxback uniforms as a design that hearken back but missed the mark in design rather than template/tailoring. For instance the 1994 Buffalo Bills. While that was a unique look that I hated at the time, it could be its own throwback of a fauxback. The same would be said the inconsistency with the 49ers throwbacks that are now more seen as 1994/1995 throwbacks than 1950s fauxbacks. I may be completely wrong in my previous understanding of throwback vs fauxback. But what a fun eye opener for me on Wednesday morning. I’d be interested to know if anyone else has had the similar misconception I have had.
Don’t the Bills have an un-worn throwback as well, or is the Standing Buffalo uniform no longer part of their official uniforms now? If so, that would make two teams who didn’t wear their throwbacks this year.
I believe it’s still an option, but since they haven’t worn that throwback since 2021, I didn’t consider it “unused” for the purposes of this article. I only included Detroit because they announced the throwback was returning as an option when they introduced their new set (and teased it both for Thanksgiving and the final game of the season, only to go monolulu blue and BFBS for those two weeks). I think *technically* the Commanders may still have their throwback at their disposal as well, also last worn in 2021. Don’t have time right now, but there are probably a couple other teams with a throwback they haven’t worn recently, but could either bring back or which never “permanently left” the rotation.
It’s not officially retired the standing Buffalo , but they haven’t wore it in 3 years. Last time was 2021. What odd is half there merch is standing Buffalo. I know the players have a lot in input in combo every week do it could possibly be they don’t care for them. I’m just guessing.
GTGFTS
Elias Diaz breaks the NL’s losing streak with a 2 run HR in the 2023 All Star Game.
The Jets’ throwbacks are a bit of a Franken-uni, as they employ the 1968 numeral and lettering fonts, 1998 helmet logo, and 2002 white striped socks, all in the 2019 shade of green.
All that said, they are gorgeous; I want to see more of them, and a green-jersey version as well. I always liked the 1968 typography better than the 1998-2018 versions, and this shade of green is just perfect.
I have a theory as to why the “Classic” uniform was introduced late, in July, and not alongside the new primary and BFBS alternate in April. As many of us are aware, the designer of the 1978 wordmark, Jim Pons, who got some publicity from the team surrounding its revival, sued the team and the NFL in July seeking royalties, trademark cancellation, and an injunction, claiming that he was never compensated for the design. The suit was voluntarily withdrawn and re-filed in November to add a claim of copyright infringement. If Pons is successful, as Frederic Bouchat was in the 1990s w/r/t the Baltimore Ravens, the Jets may have to change their logo again as the Ravens did; anticipating that, they quickly put together this “Classic” alternate uniform — with the 1998 logo, on which there could be no potential IP challenges — just in case.
I prefer the Jets’ “Classic” SB III look to what they chose as primary, and would love it to be their primary, but the Sack Exchange re-do is nice also (even though it evokes bad memories for me and that era of “close but no cigar”).
Pretend you get to pick two of these to bring back full time immediately, which two would you pick?
I’m going with Jaguars and then Saints, though I am going back and forth with choosing the Dolphins instead up until the moment I have to make the choice.
Jets and Falcons.
That’s a great question. And tempting if you only get two. I’d have to go with Miami and Philly. Turning down Jacksonville is tough because these throwbacks are truly cherry. My rationale is likely motivated by my age in the 80s when Miami and Philly wore those.
Seahawks and Falcons
My 2 – Atlanta and Hous…err, Tennessee.
Easily the bottom 2 uni-wise these days, and switching to these elevates them both significantly.
Grown to like the ‘Phins and ‘Hawks primaries, but have never warmed to the Braman-era Birds. Would love for Dallas to ditch the mismatches and go back to their original set forever… that’ll never happen.
My Top 10 (in no particular order) / Make These Permanent:
1. Falcons
2. Broncos
3. Jaguars
4. Dolphins aqua jersey
5. Seahawks
6. Titans (Oilers)
7. Buccaneers
8. Patriots
9. Eagles
10. Vikings
The Throwback is Okay, But Their Current Set is Better Than The Throwback:
1. Bears
2. Cowboys – the silver/blue/grey/blue combo is better than white/blue/white/blue&white throwback
3. Raiders
The Throwback is Okay, but Not Significantly Better Than the Comparable Current Set:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Giants 90s
3. Steelers
4. Jets white – the Sack Exchange throwback that they wear now is beautiful
5. Dolphins white
The Throwback is Not Good and Should Be Shelved
1. Browns – never wear that white helmet again. And why do they pair white pants with the white jersey when the white over orange looks so good?
2. Packers – their regular unis are perfect. Why wear anything else?
3. 49ers – same as the Packers
4. Giants 20s fauxback – I applaud the effort, but this mashup of styles doesn’t work
I Don’t Know What to Say About Them
1. Saints – this throwback is miles better than their mono black, but I really wish this team would pick a yellow/gold/mustard and be a little more consistent with it
Shoot – didn’t mean for this to be a response to Chris. I meant it to be a separate post. Oh well.
Dolphins and Vikings.
I pick Jaguars and Giants. But with the Giants I would combine elements from both the Century Red and Legacy/Color Rush jerseys to make a new set. (Think of it looking like the Colts’ Indiana Nights alternate)
If I could only bring back two: Jags and Seahawks. I love the Broncos throwback but I can live with their current set. The Jaguars and the Seahawks desperately need to get rid of what they’re wearing now. For that matter, so do the Falcons, but I just have never been able to make myself care about the Falcons.
Miami for sure. It would be really hard for me to pick between Seattle and Jacksonville for the 2nd one.
With a few exceptions, every throwback is superior to the uniform nonsense that populates today’s NFL.
I’ve never been a fan of those Packers throwbacks. I think the white (striped) socks work really well for the Patriots, but Eagles throwbacks would be better with green socks. I think the gray pants/white socks looks a bit amateurish. I generally love the Seahawks throwbacks, but the pants striping has always bothered me. 1. it doesn’t match the collar striping (B/W/G/W/B v G/W/B/W/G) and I think the blue would look better touching the gray on the pants than the green does.
I don’t know if it’s modern dyes, material, camera tech, lighting, or all of the above, but the brighter colored unis look really amazing. Obviously, they’re great designs (Broncos, Bucs, Titans/Oilers), but I really like how Nike have brought those designs to life in a modern context.
Nice review
My thoughts
These should be permanent
Falcons
Seahawks
Jaguars
Dolphins
Eagles
Vikings
Looked good
Broncos
Patriots
Saints
Jets
Steelers
Buccaneers
Titans
Hope to never see again
Cowboys
Browns
49ers
Raiders
Packers
Giants
Bears
To clarify the 80s Giants looked good. The 20s throwback was to me by far the worst uniform of the year including all current primary looks
That 1933 was awesome!! It should have been worn 2x though. The stripes on the jersey matching the socks. The helmet striping! Nice change from their normal Blah.
I often argue with my 20 year old son regarding mismatched helmet/jersey color on throwbacks like the Giants. Same as the Rams had back in 70s/90s and even mentioned regarding the Vikings in the past. I always felt there was a certain charm to it whether it was manufacturing limitations or a lack of detail by the franchises themselves. Either way, he completely disagrees and likes color uniformity.
Some great uniforms (looking at you Seattle, Atlanta, New England, Miami, and Philly). But players are doing their best to soil these classic looks with short shorts, tights in place of striped socks, and rainbow of colored cleats. Such a shame these styles are a trainwreck from the knees down.
Hear, hear. Bravo for stating this!
So you can actually pin down the Bucs throwbacks specifically to the 1976 PRESEASON. This was the team’s first year of existence (as a member of the AFC West). ’76 being the only year the team wore striped socks, and in that inaugural season, they wore white for every regular season game. Wearing the orange (with striped socks) only in the preseason. Because of that, pictures a fairly hard to comeby
Seems to me every team that has a throwback should have a hoe and away version of the throwback like the Dolphins have and we’d get to see them on the road too. Maybe even make it where 2 teams with throwbacks can coordinate. How awesome would it be to see say the Seahaws play a home game against the Eagles and the Seahawks have their home throwbacks and the Eagle have road throwbacks. The Patriots have the white Pat Patriot uniforms, with either white or red pants.
Home not hoe. Unless they are into that kind of thing.
GTGFTS
July 11, 2023
Seattle, Washington MLB All-Star game
NL 3-AL 2
I did get to go. Overall a good game.
Personal rankings (based on quality difference in quality between primary and throwback only)
Make Me Permanent
Falcons, Dolphins, Titans
Definite Improvement
Broncos, Buccaneers, Eagles, Jaguars, Patriots, Saints, Seahawks, Vikings
Tie Game
Browns, Giants, Raiders, Steelers
Punt It Away
Bears, 49ers, Cowboys, Jets, Packers
GTGFTU – November 24, 1974 – Dallas 10, Houston 0 at the Astrodome.
One of my favorite uniform matchups of the 70’s. I never got to see the Cowboys wear those in a game, the closest I ever came to that was in 1977, I went to their training camp in CA, and the D were wearing the blue uniforms for practice, and they looked great.
Almost as good as the Oilers with silver helmets.
My 2 cents:
Permanent replacement: the Vikings, Dolphins and Jaguars. Falcons and Saints.
The rest is OK the switch every now and then with the current sets,
Kinda weird the NFL did throwbacks for their 75th anniversary, not their 100th, then lifted the one shell rule.
Agreed. They definitely dropped the ball, when all they really did was create a really lame logo: link
Granted, they boxed themselves in with the one-shell rule (enacted back in 2013) which eliminated a number of possible throwbacks, were they even planning on having teams wear league-wide throwbacks like 1994.
But throwbacks were a pretty new concept (believe it or not) back in 1994, and a lot of teams just created fauxbacks or franken-unis. Just look how much better the NFL did in 2009 when the AFL teams wore 60th season throwbacks, which were much more accurate.
I don’t think the NFL needs to celebrate a league anniversary to encourage league-wide throwbacks.
Either time the Falcons played the Bucs this year should have been throwback color vs color. THat would have been a treat.
So like always some are great, some are bad, some overrated, some underrated. That said, first there’s no “almost” about it; the Titans absolutely wear those Oilers unis out of spite (am I supposed to believe it’s a coincidence they wore them against Houston?). Second, I do agree that some of these should be made permanent unis. Third, what i would REALLY like to see is a return to sleeves and looser-fitting jerseys. I know why they do what they do, but as someone who is a little big around the middle myself, I hate wearing tight-fitting shirts, and on the bigger lineman it just doesn’t look right.
i think there’s a typo: Stillers was written instead of Steelers
like many, i think SEA and ATL are the ones in most need of changing to the permanent throwbacks. i actively don’t like the creamsicles compared to what TB wears now, it was an eyesore back then in a lot of ways, and i think that one is mostly due to nostalgia/being different.
i personally would want the permanent return of the MIA throwback, but they don’t need it permanent as badly as SEA and ATL
“i think there’s a typo: Stillers was written instead of Steelers”
Not a typo.
care to share context on how that’s not a typo ? not sure i’m following
Stillers is a nickname for Steelers. Just like some people say “Iggles” for Eagles.
Loved all of the throwbacks; too many favorites to nail down. I prefer trying to color-match rather than mimic the mismatched appearance of the old uniforms. Yes, please, for Throwback Thursdays, provide white visitors jerseys, too.
Really wouldn’t mind Tennessee returning the oil derrick full-time, the “Titans” nomenclature is an abstraction.
My takes on each one:
Falcons: The helmet is nice but the jersey is boring and the logo has seen better days. Replace their current look with the Michael Vick/Matt Ryan look
Bears: Keep them for the occasional throwback game, since they are one of the oldest teams
Browns: At least make the number font the primary number font, but I would prefer they go back to the 1-31 look full time.
Cowboys: Keep them for Thanksgiving
Broncos: The colors are nice, but these are just a color swap of the Packers and look extremely outdated. The primary look is miles better (pun intended)
Lions*: See the Cowboys (these weren’t worn in 2024 but I included them anyway)
Packers: This needs to have a green helmet for a color rush look. How the GREEN Bay Packers haven’t thought of this yet is confusing
Jaguars: These are so much better than their primary look. I prefer the 2013-2017 look coming back full time but I wouldn’t complain if the Prowler throwback came back full time with the current logo
Raiders: Make this the primary road jersey
Dolphins: Only keep the aqua version of these for the occasional throwback game
Vikings: Looks outdated, especially when compared to their primary look
Patriots: Don’t like the British Army look, so replace them with a Brady era throwback instead
Saints: I love the road version with the gold numbers but not really a fan of the home version tbh
Giants: Cool idea I came up with, combine the Century Red and Legacy jerseys to make a new look, since I just think the Giants have some of the worst unis in the league. Think of it looking something like the Colts’ Indiana Nights alternate, but with a royal blue helmet with red facemask, a stripe pattern on the shoulders matching the Legacy jerseys, a new number font taken from the 100th Season logo and a red alternate jersey. My main look in Fortnite is the Giants’ Color Rush style for the Blitz Brigade skin because it just looks that good
Jets (Namath Era): Make these green and keep them as an alternate. Also younger people like me are more associating this look with Darrelle Revis and the Butt Fumble
Jets (Sack Exchange): REPLACE THESE JV TEAM LOOKING UNIS WITH THE 2019-2023 LOOK
Eagles: Keep for the occasional throwback game
Stillers: Too similar to their current look, just throw them away and bring back the gold helmet from 2009
49ers: Replace the black with gold and I guess you get a slight upgrade to their primary look. Their primary look’s lack of gold on the jersey irritates me
Seahawks: Keep for the occasional throwback game, or Reverse Retro-ify it with the Seahawks’ current logo and colors
Buccaneers: It’s cursed, throw it away. The red and pewter look is just miles better and the current logo is also way better than Bucco Bruce
Titans: Leave the Oilers in the past and in Houston. Both the Titans and Texans look better than the Oilers did anyway
Some teams that I think could use throwbacks for the occasional throwback game are the Rams (Eric Dickerson/Greatest Show on Turf) and Commanders (Redskins)
I could stomach the Jets’ 2019 uniforms if they had no black trim, no chest wordmark, white facemasks, and if the sleeve stripes didn’t extend so far toward the collar. In which case they’d basically be the “Sack Exchange” uniforms with different numeral and NOB fonts, tapered stripes, and a different helmet logo. Which would still be a downgrade, IMHO.
BTW, I prefer the term “Klecko kit” for the 1978-89 design because it mostly coincided with his career from 1977-87; the “Sack Exchange” was briefly a thing in the early ’80s. The Jets’ uniforms prior to 2019 can basically be broken down into four eras/names:
Namath kit (1965-77) – Joe Namath’s career with the Jets spanned from 1965-76; the 1963-64 uniforms could also be included, although the helmet striping (’63) and logos (both years) were different.
Klecko kit (1978-89) – Explained above.
Coslet kit (1990-97) – Klecko kit + black trim & green pants; adopted when Bruce Coslet became HC in 1990. Hard to associate this design with one person; no real noteworthy players spanning this era who didn’t carry over (e.g., Al Toon, Freeman McNeil) or spill over (e.g., Wayne Chrebet, Aaron Glenn), or were there more than 3 years (e.g., Boomer Esiason, Hugh Douglas); Adrian Murrell (93-97) and Marvin Washington (89-96) are the only ones that come to mind.
Parcells kit (1998-2018) – Updated/modernized Namath kit with darker green, oval logo, different fonts; adopted in 1998 at Bill Parcells’ behest. Lasted 21 years so no one player’s career is covered, but I’d accept “Martin kit” or “Revis kit” as an alternative.
I find that I disagree with just about every opinion expressed in your post. Sorry.
Tennessee Oilers never wore the love ya blue jerseys at home in ’97 and ’98 before becoming the Titans. They wore them 3 times in ’97 all on the road (2 reg season &1 preseason) games. In ’98 the blue Oilers jersey wasn’t worn at all neither on the road nor at home.
Correct (and I know I’ve noted this in other Oilers/Titans articles I’ve written).
They actually only wore the blue jerseys once in the regular season in 1997 (and as you correctly note, it was a road game in then “Pro Player” Stadium against the Dolphins). They were also worn once in the preseason (against Dallas in Dallas). And the Tennessee Oilers wore one uniform for the entirety of the 1998 season, which was the white jersey version. Worn for all 16 games, plus all four preseason games.
Interestingly, I thought the Oilers might have been the last team to wear white for every game. But it was actually the 2011 Browns who were the last team to wear white jerseys for every regular season game. The Oilers were the second-to-last to accomplish that feat.
Per the GUD, the following teams wore their white jerseys for a whole season (preseason games not included): Browns: 1972 (but wore brown jerseys for division playoff game in Miami), 1973, 1977, 1986, 1995, 2011; Buccaneers: 1976; Chargers: 1978, 1982 (but wore blue for a playoff game against the Dolphins), 1983, 1991; Cowboys: 1972; Dolphins: 1977; 49ers: 1976; Oilers: 1998; Rams: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1982, 1993; Saints: 1974.
Interestingly, we used to think of the Cowboys (who made home white jerseys their standard in 1964) as the premier white home and road team, but in only one season (1972) did they manage to play every game in white. Every other season they wore their dark jersey at least once.
Hi Phil,
Aside from Miami Dolphins, the 2nd regular season game the Tennessee Oilers wore their blue jersey was on road vs. Cowboys week 14 Thanksgiving. So the 2 of 3 times the Tennessee Oilers ever wore their love ya blue jerseys, it was vs Dallas Cowboys in 1997: 1 preseason and 1 regular season.
Interesting note on Cleveland Browns never would have guessed that either!!! Seems almost impossible for a team to wear white for each and every game
While the Oilers played in TN, maybe they felt they weren’t exactly ‘home’ yet, as the Nashville stadium was not yet completed there (they got the gi-ahead to leave Houston a tad early)?
It would be nice to see more teams introduce throwbacks based on the away uniforms, like the Dolphins and Niners. The Vikings road look from the ’70s is just as classic as the home unis, and much better than the all-whites they just introduced.
First off – Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Philly (with a couple of tweaks), NE, Atlanta, Denver, Jax, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and New Orleans (with golds tweaked to match) should be wearing these full time. That seems pretty obvious. But I don’t think it’s the nostalgia factor so much as the bright colors and lack of modern gimmicks that make the throwbacks so much better. In the case of the Titans, Bucs, Seahawks, Eagles, Pats, Broncos and Falcons (the red helmet makes all the difference), you are trading darker, muted colors in favor of bright and vibrant ones. And you know what looks absolutely great on HDTV? Bright, vibrant colors.
In order to have a throwback weekend or Throwback Thursdays, a few teams would need to create fauxbacks or throwback/fauxback combos. Among the 12 teams that didn’t wear throwbacks or fauxbacks this season:
BUF: the “Jim Kelly era” unis with the red helmet from 1984-2001
BAL: a fauxback/throwback combo featuring their 1996 unis with their current helmet
CIN: their original unis from 1968-1980
HOU: their original unis with the once proposed white helmet
IND: the solid white throwbacks with a blue helmet and rear placed horseshoes worn in 2010
KC: their AFL Dallas Texans throwbacks
LAC: their original powder blue throwbacks or the “Dan Fouts era” unis from 1974-1984
WAS: a fauxback/throwback combo featuring any uni pre-2020 and a blank helmet minus imagery
DET: normal Thanksgiving throwbacks or the “Barry Sanders era” unis
CAR: original proposed unis (blue/black jerseys with silver block numbers)
LAR: the 1973-1999 unis
AZ: the “Jim Hart era” white unis or “Jake Plummer era” white unis with the Arizona state flag
Interesting!
I’ve actually begun a piece (which will probably run tomorrow) suggesting 12 throwbacks for the 12 teams who didn’t wear them this season! And some of your suggestions match mine!
One option for Washington would be to throw back to 1970-1971, but remove the feather from the helmet logo. It’s not my favorite helmet logo, but it would be the easiest to fix. The rest of the uni from that era is fire.
So pittsburgh’s is considered a “throwback” because of a different color facemask and a slightly different number font? What’s next? changing the color of the socks and calling that a throwback?
White-jersey throwbacks are almost never as good/fun/popular, which is too bad because I’d love to see more throwback-vs-throwback games. I guess they could do color v color, but that has its own set of issues.
All in all, I’m happy we got to see some great looking throwbacks this season.
Atlanta, Seattle, and Phila throwbacks are some of my favorite uniforms in football today. Denver, NYJ, Tampa, Houston, New England, and Miami are not far behind. Looking forward to seeing more of all of these.
I really enjoyed seeing all of these in one place!
Thanks, Phil!
In nearly every instance, I would prefer to see two-color numbers over teams that historically had one-color digits. This includes the Browns, Giants, Cowboys, even the Packers. About the only teams I abide the simpler numbers are Seattle, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco.
Great discussion! I loved how this went deeper than like or not like and into the more dynamic elements of design.
Love that Miami has an away throwback…
I would love to see the old AFL teams wear throwbacks when they meet up to remind everyone of the great uniforms they had for those 10 glorious years!
I became an Eagles fan during the Buddy Ryan/ Randall Cunningham era, after having been a Baltimore Colts fan, so these are a throwback to when I started cheering for Philadelphia.
I’ve said something like this before… I love the kelly green color, but even more important are the silver/gray pants that were worn with both the green and the white jerseys during that era. One thing that has really declined over the past few decades is the use of pants in color that’s distinct from the jersey color–far too many teams, including the Eagles with their standard set, only have pants that match jersey colors. So there are too many games with either white-over-white or the mono-color look, neither of which is that great.
(I’m willing to make an exception for the Colts, who historically made white-over-white work really well.)
Just making a note that, as an Eagles fan for 65 years, I can’t remember any times I’ve seen them in midnight green over midnight green. But l think I would like to see them mix silver pants with the midnight green shirts.
Just don’t love the ‘throwback’ and ‘alternate’ thing. I’m more inclined to love the teams who actually stick with their perfect unis.
In a perfect world, everyone would wear their greatest uni, and stick with it. Allowing for different color combos is fine, but the iconic unis are always the best.
So…
Go back to ‘throwbacks'(iconic look) already:
– Broncos
– Bucs
– Seahawks
– Let Houston be the Oilers already and wear those beauties
– Falcons
– Patriots
– Dolphins (its a Dolphin wearing a helmet!)
– Jaguars
– Vikings
– Eagles
– Rams (get rid of the highlighter- go back to the iconic yellow and royal)
Fix your damn unis already- not that hard:
– Titans
– Cardinals
– Texans
– Commanders (just use that old Washington template with new name/logo)
Just wear your great uni the right way (the ‘stop with the all-black and yoga oants’ teams:
– Saints
– Ravens
– Lions
Keep up the good work, ditch any ‘throwbacks’:
– Chiefs
– Raiders
– Chargers
– Bengals
– Steelers
– Colts
– Browns
– Bills
– Jets (current or former, both good)
– Cowboys
– Giants
– Bears
– Packers
– Panthers
– 49ers
Phil, that Denver piece did you completely wrong. Not only did he directly say you told him the teams do throwbacks only for money, but they also they had unacceptably crappy audio for you. Everyone else is on there either professional grade audio and video and you are given a tinny voice from the back of a muted megaphone. That seems disrespectful to me.