Good Thursday morning, Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a good Wednesday.
The year 2020 will be remembered for many things (most of them not particularly good), but 2020 was also a huge year for NFL redesigns. Six teams received new uniforms that year (the most in decades in a single season).
Those six teams — the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — have now all passed the five-year minimum, and as such, all six would be eligible to have new uniforms beginning this fall. This is not to say any of them will get new uniforms, only that they are eligible. And those teams would have had to inform the league last year of their intent to change uniform designs. Here is the relevant section of the NFL rules regarding new uniform timelines:
• By March 1 of the year prior to the year in which a uniform change will take place, written notice and details of any changes in the uniform must be provided to the League office (e.g., if you want to make a change for 2025, you must notify the league not later than March 1, 2024).
• By July 1 of that year, uniform color selection and logo design must be completed, having been approved by the club’s owner and chief executive.
• By August 1 of that year, initial uniform samples must be created and approved by the club’s owner, equipment manager, and chief executive.
• By November 1 of that year, final uniform samples are to be provided to the League office for TV testing. Approvals from club owner, equipment manager and chief executive must be certified to the league by this date. If final samples do not arrive in the League offices by November 1 of the year preceding the season in which the change is occurring, the uniform will not be approved.
• By December 1, the league office gives final approval for use the following season.
So if any of the six clubs wished to have new uniforms beginning this fall, they would have needed to have begun the process more than a year ago. Whether any of these six will do so probably won’t be known until just before the NFL draft (held this year from April 24 through 26), when teams who are introducing new uniforms have traditionally unveiled new unis. For teams making lesser changes (for example, the Bengals and Commanders each introducing a new pair of pants) to the uniforms, those usually come after the draft. Teams adding new helmets generally don’t unveil those until the summer.
We’re already hearing rumblings that a couple of these teams will possibly be introducing at least new uniform elements, or possible new throwbacks, while others may be sticking with their current duds. Let’s do a quick rundown.
Atlanta Falcons
While several teams who redesigned for 2020 returned to more classic looks, the Falcons went in the opposite direction, introducing a thoroughly modern uniform design that has aged rather poorly. At first, the design was met with some praise, as the Falcons had gone 17 years in their prior design, which was also an attempt at modern design and which also aged quickly.
The Falcons’ redesign also featured a set of red pants (which were never worn), and a red-to-black gradient alternate that was retired after only three seasons. The best thing to come from the redesign was a fauxback to their 1966 original (in 2020 the one-shell rule was still in effect). When teams were permitted to add a second shell in 2022, the Falcons added a red shell, making their throwbacks one of the best in the NFL. Every time the team wears them, we all mutter a collective “just make these the permanent primary uniforms.”
Of the six teams who got new unis in 2020, the Falcons definitely top the list for new unis ASAP! The good news is they already have the perfect home uniform in their uniform stable. I’d love for them to move the current throwback to primary status and add a white jersey in the same 1966 style for the primary road jersey. The team could still keep the black helmet (and could even add a third shell) going forward, add a set of gray (or even red) pants for some variety, and then maybe even go crazy with a modern new uniform for an alternate (they could even follow the Texans’ model with two crazy alternates). But if they made the throwbacks permanent, I’d be quite fine with that.
Cleveland Browns
After making one of the worst-ever uniform blunders in 2015, the Browns quickly came to their senses and with some very slight modifications, returned to the uniforms they had worn for decades. It was an immediate success, and I don’t think too many folks are looking for the Browns to redesign. Ever.
But if you look at the photo above, the Browns uniform rotation looks quite a bit different than it did in 2020. Gone is the brown-on-brown color rush alternate, and the team quietly dropped the brown pants from the rotation this year (they were last worn in 2023). Since their 2020 introduction, the Browns have also added in a set of orange pants (YES!), and, thanks to the single shell rule being lifted, also have a “1946” harkback uniform.
The Browns have achieved uniform nirvana with their current primary set (and dumping the brown pants only made the current set that much better), so I would hope those uniforms are locked down. As far as alternate(s), it has been reported the Browns are getting a new helmet for 2025, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a different color shell. I have no inside information, but my hunch is the Browns will introduce a new alternate (possibly with a brown shell). I could also see them dropping the 1946 harkback, but keeping the white shell, to possibly create another new alternate.
As long as they keep the current primaries, I’d be fine if they add an alternate and/or drop the 1946 uni.
Los Angeles Chargers
For their first season in their new shared home, the LA Chargers introduced a beautiful new set that was both modern and retro at the same time — a difficult balancing act the team managed to pull off with aplomb. All of their primary combos look great, but the blue jersey over gold pants is a Top 3 NFL uniform. While the Chargers have almost always had good-to-great uniforms, they did a stellar job with the modern-retro revamp. I would hope they keep the current primaries long into the future.
The team also introduced two alternates with that set. An all-royal and an all-dark navy set. For some reason that was never fully explained, the Chargers dumped their royal alternate for 2024, when it was the dark blue that should have gone. But the reason has recently come into focus. Like the Browns, the Chargers have been reported to be getting a new shell for the upcoming season (which lends credence to my earlier post). Of all the reported new helmets for 2025, I find the Chargers one the most likely. They already “leaked” the navy shell, which they would obviously pair with the dark navy uniform (which may explain why the royal uniform was ditched).
I’m not real stoked at the prospect of another NFL team in a mono-dark uniform, but it looks like that’s where the Chargers are headed. I’d prefer them to add a royal-navy shell, which they could use to create this throwback.
I do not want the team to ditch their primary uniforms, which are damn near perfect, but at least a mono-dark uniform is better than a white helmet over mono-navy. And if they do get a new navy shell, they could use that not just for a mono-dark alternate, but also bring these beauties back as a throwback.
Los Angeles Rams
I know a lot of you do not like the Rams uniforms (I’m not a huge fan myself), and in that first season — with the sole exception of the blue jersey/yellow pants — the team looked terrible. They didn’t even have a white jersey at first, just something off-white that the Rams called “Bone” and Paul called “Dishwater.” And the trajectory of the uniforms has been interesting.
You may recall in 2020 the team showed a graphic promising two new uniforms, one for 2021 and one for 2022. And indeed, in 2021, the team added a white jersey (which could be paired with either yellow or blue pants). That white/yellow combo would not only be their best look, they also defeated the Bengals while wearing them in Super Bowl 56. But they never did add that second new uniform in 2022. Or 2023. Or 2024.
I have been hoping since 2020 the team would add a yellow jersey and white pants (which would be a harkback to their 1950s uniforms). I still hope they do.
Ideally the Rams dump the bone/dishwater uniforms and stick with blue, yellow and white. They also need to dump the gradient numbers (among other tweaks) to the blue jerseys, but I think adding a set of yellow tops and white pants would be enough to keep a full redesign at bay. They’ve got one great combo, but it wouldn’t take much to ditch the dishwater and add in yellow and white.
New England Patriots
If the Patriots had stuck solely with their 2020 uniforms, I’d be leading the charge for a new design for 2025. But in the past couple years, not only did the Patriots bring back the beloved Pat Patriot throwbacks, they also added a set of silver-gray pants, which I had correctly predicted they’d wear more often in 2024. They also began pairing them with their white jerseys last season — a look I prefer to the blue pants, but unfortunately the silver-gray is quite light, so the contrast between the white jersey and gray pants isn’t great. But it’s still a welcome addition.
In a possible clue as to the 2025 uniform lineup, the Patriots might be adding another throwback for 2025.
So long as the Patriots stick to blue over silver-gray (and either blue or silver-gray pants with the white shirt), and keep the Pat Patriots around, I’m fine with their current lineup. I’d hate to see the red jersey throwback be replaced by a different throwback, but I’d be 100% in favor of it if it’s worn in addition to Pat.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Like the Browns, the Buccaneers corrected their 2015 mistake; those uniforms were arguably the worst NFL uniforms EVER, and the alarm clock design will forever live in infamy. And while the 2020 uniforms were basically a return to their previous set, there was one big difference: instead of returning to the pre-2015 shade of pewter, the Bucs kept the much darker shade that was introduced with the 2015 set. The result is that the pants don’t appear pewter, but can look black or brown depending on the lighting. I wholeheartedly support a change to a lighter shade of pewter if Nike could figure out a way to do it properly.
But there is no question that the rest of the uniform (red and white jerseys, white pants) is close to perfection, and should remain untouched for the foreseeable future. Like several teams on this list, the Bucs have added one of the greatest throwbacks of all time (even if the team never saw much success in them).
There was also addition by subtraction. Very quitely, the Buccaneers dropped the all-pewter alternate in 2024. The pewter jersey might have looked OK if it were paired with the white pants, but alas, that never happened. But the all-pewter (and a really dark pewter at that)? Don’t let the door hit it on the keester on the way out.
But might the Bucs be introducing a new throwback for 2025? If a (now deleted) video showing the forthcoming “50 Seasons” patch is correct, Tampa Bay will be sporting their original 1976 uniform as a special throwback tying into their 50th season. It is assumed the Bucs will still wear the orange Bucco Bruce throwback again in 2025, so if they have ditched their pewter alternate, that would allow them to add in the 1976 throwback!
The 2020 redesigns were huge successes for the most part, but several teams may have so great surprises (in the form of alternates) as we head into 2025.
Your thoughts?
Atlanta: yes
Cleveland: no (bring back thr brown facemaks though)
Chargers: no
LA: yes, bring back the Youngbloods
New England: west silver pants with blue jerseys
Tampa Bay: No
Atlanta: overhaul
Cleveland: no
Chargers: no
LA: tweaks at the least- remove the yellow number gradient, remove the vinyl interior number strips, scrap the dishwaters
New England: could use an refresh, or a return to Pat Patriot
Tampa Bay: no, unless they go full Creamsicle
I’m pleasantly surprised by how I came around on the Rams uniforms. Yes, the Dickerson era set was much better, but the current set is solid. Just need to: a) lose the bone/dishwater jersey, b) lose the gradient numbers, c) wear the yellow pants, always.
The Rams would be better if all the pants stripes matched the style of the yellow pants. Just do that on the blues and make a white set
Agreed. I love that style of pant striping. I never like a team only having one pant option.
As a Rams fan it annoys me to no end just how long we’ve been dealing with this team’s refusal to wear gold/yellow pants. This started back in St. Louis and ownership got so weird about it that they started removing ALL TRACES of gold or yellow from the uniform in the most half-butted way possible, which is how the Rams briefly ended up with the Mostly White monstrosities before they flipped that on its tail and started wearing the classic throwbacks at home almost exclusively. But then with the new set they waited a couple of years and then went right back to scouring yellow out of the equation.
The blue/white era of the Rams lasted only nine years but there is this strange belief inside the front office that maybe it should have never ended.
Atlanta—duh they should redesign. I agree that they could at least make their throwbacks primary and that would be a good move.
Cleveland—Other than fixing the number 7 on their jerseys (weird font for only that number for some reason), they should never change these things.
Chargers—Primary home and away are perfect. Leave as is. Give us royal and navy throwbacks and now we’re really talking!
Rams—LOVE the color scheme with the royal blue and yellow-gold; I think their uniforms pop visually way more than they had in the past 20 years. But… the template these colors are on is pretty bad. Get rid of the segmented horns, go back to the previous number font (and no gradient) and always wear the yellow pants with home and away unis and these things would be near perfect modern classics. Alternates should be Dickerson era unis and then maybe a white horned throwback as well.
New England—These things look fine IF they wear silver pants with both unis. I think the white and grey being too close in color problem would be solved by wearing navy socks with the white jersey instead of white socks, which makes it all blend together. And obviously the Pat the Patriot throwback shouldn’t go away ever.
Tampa Bay—I like their primary uniforms and I think they should stick with them. Creamsicle home and away uniforms for throwbacks is perfect.
Atlanta-Yes. The ATL looks bad and the numbers never looked right even though i always like custom number fonts. To me the Falcons always look better with red jerseys and black helmet at home and red numbers and black helmet on the road.
Cleveland-No. And the white throwback is awesome too.
Chargers-Yes. I have never liked this look as the set before had a better feel with a bit of Navy in it. But the bolts all being the same helps.
Rams-Push- i like the design but get rid of gradients and do a yellow jersey
New England-Bring back the Brady era font at least
Tampa_No. Just lighten the pewter
Phil you listed the Browns twice in the paragraph at the top that begins with “Those six teams….”
Gah! The second Browns was supposed to say “Tampa Bay Buccaneers”
Now fixed. Thanks!
Atlanta: Please get rid of these monstrosities! Go back to the all red look from the 1978-86 but perhaps without the gray/silver pants and numbers and stripes. A cleaner look. In fact, take the 1978 uniform, and have white pants with black-red-black stripes, and have similar “Northwestern” style stripes on the home reds (white-black-white) and road whites (black-red-black). Home jerseys with white numbers outlined in black, road jerseys red numbers outlined in white. Helmet back to the classic red with white-black-white stripes, classic falcon, and black facemasks.
Los Angeles Rams: jettison the royal blue pants and the dishwater uniforms. Get rid of the gradient numbers on the royal jerseys. Have the gold (Sol) pants the ONLY pants used.
New England Patriots: as a Patriots fan since 1975, go back to the hiking minuteman uniform, specifically the uniforms worn during the 1985 Super Bowl Season. White or red facemasks. Either is fine and looks great. No more “Flying Elvis,” no more silver, no more navy. And no more mono-uniforms, either.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Go back to the 1976 uniforms. Completely. And on the road, have the white jerseys of 1976 with ORANGE numbers outlined in red, as this fits the template of the helmet stripe and jersey stripes and pants stripe. Perhaps an alternate orange helmet with red-white-red stripes and Bucco Bruce in white with red highlights and a red (or white) mask. Jettison the pewter completely, as well as the black.
Isn’t it ironic that many teams are now returning to a classic look that they should have never left (look at the Jets, Browns)
Cleveland is the only one I’d say should stay put. Tampa would be fine because that uniform is acceptable, but going back to a white/orange/white design, throwback or not, full time, would be a big improvement for them.
Atlanta, obviously a complete redo, to something similar to the throwbacks they have.
Chargers would be much better if they just added tv numbers on the jerseys.
My preference is for New England to merge the Patriot and Flying Elvi design and go silver/red/silver. But their current look would be fine too if they never went mono navy, and swapped the sleeve logo for tv numbers.
Los Angeles, the current helmet horns and LAC logo are trash, just go back to the classic design but with these brighter colors, and maybe a custom but legible number font if it needs to be bespoke in some way.
Good call on lack of TV numbers on the Chargers uniforms, and really all football uniforms. Sure, they aren’t really necessary any longer, bite they really fill out the jersey. So much empty space without them.
I know it’s the popular thing to dump on Atlanta’s uniforms, but I actually like them.
IMHO:
Falcons- The throwback with red helmet should be the main set. Choose one of those monochromatic disasters to be the alternate, it doesn’t matter…
Browns- Cleveland got it right!!
Chargers- I love the white/powder blue/white and white/white/white sets. The only thing else they need is a Dan Fouts era throwback.
Rams- Yuck! And dishwater whites double yuck! The Rams need the “Jack” factor: Regular set should be the blue and yellow Jack Youngblood era unis. Alternate set should be the Jack Snow era white with blue trim (blue and white helmet).
Patriots- Yuck again! And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Jets fan. The truncated shoulder stripes look particularly garish on these (thanks, Nike!). The classic Pat the Patriot white helmet and red jerseys were among the best ever, especially when the shoulder stripes continued under the armpits. Flying Elvis can stick around for an alternate.
Buckos- Not bad, but like others, I’d like to see a lighter shade of pewter for jerseys and pants. And of course, the glorious Creamsicles must be a regular alternate.
Falcons – Go with the retro unis, add a white jersey, and maybe throw in a retro (70s-80s) red jersey as an alternate. And bring back gray pants, specifically to be paired with the black helmet, while the red helmet gets paired with white pants – if the NFL will allow it (though they let the Bengals play it a bit loose with their interpretation of the alternate jersey/helmet rules, so it could be possible).
Browns – Don’t change just for change’s sake.
Chargers – The navy shell should be a nice addition. Would like to see them not have to go mono-blues for the alts – would be nice to bring back the royals and give them the gold pants, and the navy with white pants for that 90s look, but the way this league is going…
Rams – Ditch the dishwaters, ditch the chest patches, and ditch the gradients on the blue jersey’s numbers. And I’ve never been particularly enamored with these numbers, so maybe come up with a less goofy-looking number set while we’re at it. Doesn’t have to be a reversion to block numbers or the St. Louis-era numbers, it can be something new, just don’t go overboard.
Patriots – Mirroring the sentiment about the silver (gray) pants being the primary pants for the blue jersey. The current jerseys having the same stripe patterns as the Pat throwbacks works well for me. A 90s throwback would be fine for one game.
Buccaneers – Just fix the shade of pewter, ditch the pewter alts, and have both the orange and white throwbacks in the rotation much like the Dolphins currently have.
Falcons, Rams and Patriots should change. I like red better as the main color for the Falcons. I’d like to see the dishwater and the gradient numbers go away for the Rams plus make the ram head logo primary and return to a solid horn helmet logo. Bring back the white helmet horns for the white jerseys! Those were sharp looking! For the Patriots I’d like to see a modern version of their original color scheme but keep the current logo on a white helmet. Ditch silver/grey completely.
In total disagreement with your take on the rams uniforms. I hate everything about them and hope they go immediately. The gradient, the segmented horns, the numbers, the super thin pants stripe, it’s all bad.
You left out two changes to the Browns’ uniforms since their unveil that’s made them even better: a glossy finish to the orange lids, and the permanent return of white facemasks.
If the Browns ever change again there should be a riot. They do a lot wrong but the uniforms are perfect.
GTGFTU: 2018 MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park. The American League wins 8-6.
Every team should update their look as often as possible.
This would present itself it with endless possibilities (good or bad) and maintain high revenue on the retail side, while being able to establish “retro” and “throwback” looks faster than ever.
Professional sports should not care what it looks like, as long as the gambling, streaming, advertising, ticket sales, and all avenues of revenue are coming in, why not keep changing as fast as they can?
To pretend that there is any value or morality in a uniform in today’s sports, is a misplaced thought.
Besides, the more change, the more that it would keep this site afloat.
ATL: Full revamp centered on the throwback. Alternate red helmets and/or jerseys, with the intention to mix-and-match if allowed. White and grey pants options. Update the logo to something in between the old and new versions. Maybe keep a more modern alternate for the merch-heads.
CLE: Keep everything the same, but drop the second brown jersey. I guess some people like their all-whites not pictured here, so they could keep that instead. Personally I’ve always wanted to see the Browns use some sort of khaki, maybe something like a color-shift of their classic “Surrender Whites” but in an antique off-white or cream, paired with the classic orange hat and plain brown socks.
LAR: Partial redesign. I didn’t mind this set when it launched, but I think they could do better. Get rid of the gradient numbers. No more bone. Make the helmet horns more basic (no ridge). Royal-and-yellow primary homes and roads with blue hats and blue or white jerseys and choice of white, yellow, or blue pants. Change the leg stripe to a wide single or a classic triple-stripe. Alternate navy helmet to recreate the 1964-1972 road whites (navy helmet with white horns, white jerseys and pants, navy socks).
NE: Minor tweaks. Make the stripes always red-white-red, except on the throwbacks.
TB: I think these are good enough to keep, although I agree that the pewter color looks off. Some kind of Bruce alternate seems mandatory.
LAC: Keep the main stuff, drop the royal. Navy helmet that matches the pants. Maybe redesign the navy uniform to include both powder blue and yellow in the trim.
Again and again, i find myself not understanding the near-universal dislike of color “gradients”.
I think it’s just because they look stupid; too clever by half.
Sports uniforms, football uniforms in particular, have always been marked by stark color contrasts; numerals-jersey, jersey-pants, &c. This is largely because they want to be visible and identifiable from a distance, and starting in the 1950s, on small black-and-white television screens. All of us here at UW understand how and why the advent of color television, merchandising, and HDTV have influenced uniform design, and of course a lot of us don’t like it because it’s not what we’re used to seeing.
Color gradients, though, at least on a football uniform (as opposed to, e.g., a basketball uniform), just seem (at least to me, and IMHO) to be pointless, and don’t really look good either. “Form follows function” is a cliché, of course, but it’s true; e.g., football pants have stripes on the sides to cover and reinforce the seams, with the happy side-effect of making the runner look faster and enhancing the image of athleticism (which is why I don’t understand the current stripeless-pants fetish). There’s no reason for the Rams to have yellow-to-off-white gradient numerals; why can’t the numerals just be yellow or white? The gradient doesn’t make them easier to read from a distance, or on television, or help distinguish the Rams from their opponents or from other teams, or make the jerseys harder to counterfeit, or serve any other function; it exists for its own sake. And it’s just … aesthetically unappealing, I can’t describe it any better than that.
Very strong argument! Well put!
I think this paragraph should be added to the Uni-Bible as an explanation against color gradients for now and forever, because it’s spot on.
I should add that I actually liked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ original gradient wordmark; I know I’m in the minority on that.
Haha, I guess you are!
I think part of the reason why is that they were multi-colored, not one-color-to-another (like the Rams’ yellow-to-off-white or the Falcons’ red-to-black); blue-teal-green-yellow was an aesthetically-pleasing color gradient, and the letters had solid outlines. Also, overall it was a very conservative uniform design that didn’t scream modernity or try to reinvent the wheel.
Falcons: Incredible, really, how a franchise that got its uniform so right at the very beginning has gotten them so, so wrong in its last two redesigns. The solution is obvious.
Chargers: They’re fine but straighten the numerals out vertically; italic numerals are stupid and senseless.
Rams: Make the gradient numerals yellow, lose the plastic-y numeral accents, lose the blue pants, lose the dishwater everything.
Patriots: They’re fine; just stop wearing mono-navy.
Bucs: They’re fine, but bring back the 1997 logo/helmet decal or shrink the current one to that size, and lighten the pewter pants just a bit.
Browns: They’re fine.
Not only is the current Bucs logo too big, but yes the original flag logo is so much better. The original design absolutely had a pirate feel to the aesthetic, the current version has a modern and sleek aesthetic, making it more generic and like countless other logos that get rolled out now.
GTGFTS: September 8, 1998. Cubs at Cardinals. The Dewitts had replaced the electronic scoreboard with a manual one. Oh, and Mark McGwire hit his 62nd home run of the season.
Agree that Atlanta’s unis suck.
Love that the Browns have dropped the turd pants. Stripes or not, those things are awful. The rest is gorgeous.
The only thing keeping the Chargers’ unis from being perfect is the lack of stripes on the socks. Put those back on, and they’re incomplainable (because I can’t think of the correct word).
I can’t understand why anyone with the Rams thinks this is a better look than the Dickerson era unis. The whole set is tacky.
I don’t understand the appeal of the truncated shoulder stripes on the Pats’ unis. Extend them under the pits like they used to be and they’ve got a winner. This also goes for LSU and everybody else that does this.
Creamsicles Forever!
Nice work, Phil.
I’m in Modbot Limbo again. I just don’t get it.
Argh! Make all teams look like Techmo Super Bowl again! Grumble grumble! Thanks to some editing of the sets (falcons ditching the ombré, for example) all of these unis are at least good. Are they perfect, not necessarily. But the pats, buccs, browns, and chargers look as good as they’ve ever looked. The rams and falcons look good.
I think the Rams unis are solid. Just get rid of the bone unis, lose the gradient aspects, add white pants WITH stripes. And pair some yellow socks with the blue pants. I love the shade of blue they changed to. With just a few tweeks, I feel this is a uniform that could stick around for a long time.
I would think that changing the Falcons (wholesale) and Rams (at least scrapping the dishwater jerseys) would be a slam dunk. But I know I’m not the target market for these uniforms.
All easy NFL fixes, except Pats.
Browns – Don’t touch them
Bucs – Don’t touch them
Chargers – Don’t touch them
Pats – Time for a full revamp with the new staff
Falcons – Go back to the 70’s sets. Completely stamp out modern alts. NON
Rams – I haven’t understood this team’s look since they went bronze back in St Louis.
The late 70’s duds were iconic. Bring back those home/away, stay away from funky new alts
The Falcon defintely need to dump the current set and make their throwbacks full time, and work in a red jersey/silver pants to recreate the 80s look.
The Rams need to go back to their classic look with a blue/white alternate.
The Patriots fixed things imo with the silver pants. I actually think it’s a great uniform now. I would like to see the Bledsoe era throwbacks.
Browns are pretty much perfect. I wouldn’t hate seeing the brown pants back some but otherwise perfect.
Chargers I agree they dumped the wrong alternate.
2020 was actually a good year for new uniforms in the NFL:
Falcons: Throw this out and start over. Better yet, go with the throwbacks full time (red helmets, black jerseys, white pants with stripes).
Browns: Leave it alone, but go back to the block number font. The 7 is weird.
Chargers: Leave it alone, but dump the white pants paired with the blue jerseys. Not enough yellow/gold with that pairing. Get rid of the royal blue and navy alternates. If they want navy blue, I’d rather see them wear their 90’s throwbacks (Brees/LT2 era).
Rams: I wouldn’t change this uniform set completely, but tweaks are needed. The big one is no more gradient numbers on the blue uniforms. Stop doing monoblue. If it’s white uniforms and blue pants, stop wearing blue socks. Do white socks with stripes.
Patriots: These uniforms are fine, just stop with the mono navy blue. Wear white or silver pants with the blue jerseys.
Bucs: They’re perfect. Get rid of the pewter alternates, but otherwise, it’s perfect.
Bucs: Creamsicles.
Rams: Jack Snow.
Atlanta: redesign the set ASAP (yes, that goes for you too, Titans). Cleveland: keeper (especially the orange pants), Chargers: keeper (but no mono navy please). Bucs: keeper. Rams: ditch the dishwater and the gradients, wear yellow pants more often and tweak that Rams skull logo (the LA monogram is OK).
Oh, forgot the Patriots: nice redesign but darken the silver of the pants and keep the red Patriot Pat in rotation.
I would actually love to see QR codes on jerseys or helmets!
This would make interactive tv truly OTT.
The data stream of stats and information gathering would be limitless.
Time to take tech to the top!
Atlanta: YES!!!! NOW!!!! RIGHT AWAY!!!
Everyone else: I’m good with it for a while
I enjoy watching NFL football. Not nearly as much as when I was younger. It’s not appointment television for me like it once was. I watch most of the playoff games. But I no longer watch three games on Sunday (1pm, 4pm, 8pm). And I don’t always watch Monday Night Football like I used to. I do, however, plan my entire Saturday around watching college football.
With that being said, I’m making a pledge to myself for the upcoming NFL season. As my Lenten sacrifice, I will not watch any game when a team goes monochrome. I’ll make exceptions for the playoffs, when a team wears all white (Browns, Colts for example), or legitimate throwbacks (Packers in all green, though it’s ugly). A lot of my enjoyment in watching the NFL is the visual aspect. And I dislike almost all the monochrome looks. So if I turn on a Lions game and they’re wearing the blueberries, I’m out. Rams in all royal, Patriots in all navy, Chargers in all navy… hard pass. I think I’ll enjoy the NFL much more this season, and I’ll have a lot more free time this way, so it’s a win-win.
“Chargers in all navy… hard pass.”
After 2021 & 2023, I totally get why someone with “Block O” in their handle wouldn’t want to see a Harbaugh-coached team solid navy with gold accents ever again.
Am I the only one annoyed by the cutoff shoulder loops of the Patriots’ uniforms?
I know it’s harder to make loops work with modern jersey stitching, but I’d like to see the patriots go to something similar to the Panthers.
Browns: change to standard block numbers. The current font is wierd and some numbers have rounded corners and some are angular.
Pats: look good now that silver pants are worn. They should wear 1993-1994 throwbacks as an alt.
Rams: Dump the bone and replace that with white. Change number font. Change stripes on blue pants to a similar design to the yellow.
ATL: Change to the 1980’s-1990’s look with current helmet logo.
LAC: get rid of numbers on helmets, use a standard block number font, bring back royal blue jersey and helmet. Have a yellow alt helmet.
TB Change gray to a lighter shade.
Falcons – Bring back the Vick/Ryan uniforms
Browns – Yes, they’re boring. Their previous look just looks better to me, even if they’re associated with 1-31
Chargers – No. Top 5 set in the league and the navy color rush is elite
Rams – No, but trash the dishwater set for a sol color rush jersey
Patriots – Yes. I’ve heard they might be bringing back the Brady jerseys full time and that would definitely improve their look
Buccaneers – No. But get rid of the Bucco Bruce throwbacks, seeing what their record is in them
Atlanta & New England should both make their throwback alts the regular set. Obviously with the corresponding white version of that era’s jersey.
Each could even introduce an alt in that era’s design too, royal blue base for New England, red for Atlanta.
But for each, that vintage aesthetic should become the primary.
For the rest of them, these versions are fine. I especially thought the Chargers was well done. Move them back to SD though
I hope the rams never drop the gradient numbers nor the name tag. Add a yellow jersey and call it a day, its a unique set, and i really appreciate that they stepped out to do something different. Has anyone ever found out what the 2022 design was supposed to be?
The falcons could really just get rid of the jersey side panel strip, they never wore the red pants and I think the mismatched stripes on the side is probably why. Their number font looks kinda goofy too. The pats did right by adding silver pants, white on silver is a dope combo I hope they continue to wear.
The other ones is…just rehashes of what they already done, if they were gonna revert back to old designs then they probably should’ve never changed the look in the first place. No comment on them, seen them before, tried and true designs, but very safe moves by them to revert back to old designs and call them ‘new’.
“Has anyone ever found out what the 2022 design was supposed to be?”
I don’t believe so. I personally thought they were going to add a yellow top and/or white pants (and I still think that’s in the cards). But as far as the planned third uni? Don’t think anyone (except the designer and the Rams) knows, and to my knowledge no one has ever offered an explanation as to why the promised new uni wasn’t unveiled as per their timeline.
I think the Bucs should pair orange with their grays. It does look very ’70s with white – great as a throwback, not as a main identity – but the red and gray just feels so…basic. That orange is unique and I think would look good with their gray.
People here like the Rams unis? Bottom 5 set for sure.
Would like to see what a red alternate jersey would look like for the Patriots paired with the silver helmet/silver pants/red socks.
Falcons: No one is going to disagree they need a change, so the question is what should they change it to? I’d love to see a red helmet with a white/black/white stripe, simple black jerseys with the swooping falcon logo on the sleeve with classic numbers, and gray pants.
Chargers: They’re perfect, don’t change the primary set. I’d love to see a throwback to the Dan Fouts set.
Rams: Lose the number gradient and the dishwater set. Use the golden pants as the go to pants and throw the blue in on the road every now and then.
Patriots: Jerseys are fine, but the pants need addressed, especially on the home uniform.
Bucs: Never change again.
Browns: I’d like them to return to gray facemasks, at least with their home brown jersey set.
The Falcons are a mess…they need to go back to the silver pants era. Bring back both the red jersey style from the 80s and the black jersey style from the 90s (maybe do two version of the white jerseys with red and black name/number), and the red and black helmets. Tame the fonts down some (I prefer a more custom font over simple block, but what they have now is way too far), and that’s all you need.
Bucs are fine as-is…agree on needing a slightly lighter and/or shinier pewter, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
I’m probably in the minority, but I’d love to see the Browns have an actual logo on their helmets. I know it’s tradition, but it’s a tradition that doesn’t make sense in this day and age of the NFL…whether it’s the elf, the dawg, some custom workmark…something. The rest of their set is good, though I wish they’d pair the orange pants with the white jerseys a little more often.
Pats are fine now that they’ve brought the silver pants back. I preferred the Brady-era fonts to these, but again, not a deal breaker.
I liked the previous Chargers set to this one…if they added the yellow pants to the previous set, and dropped both of the mono-alternates, they’d be perfect. The previous font iteration was better than the current italicized version, IMHO.
Rams have grown on me a little, but they still need to swap out the “dishwater” bone for white, and ditch the gradients on the numbers. That would go a long way.
So, the Falcons really need a change.
With Rams and Buccaneers, I can live with, but can see small improvements here and there. The Rams need to pick a solid color for number (I do like the modern take on the numbers and helmet logo). The Buccaneers need to lighten up the pewter to improve things, or revert to the originals if you want to see everyone happy.
The Chargers and Browns uniforms are perfect as is. I wouldn’t change anything with them.
And finally, we have the Patriots. Their uniform is the one that confuses me the most. Now, I do understand that the Flying Elvis logo is 31 years old, but, it still feels ultra modern, which in itself is not a bad thing. I actually like the Flying Elvis. And the rest of their uniform looks great as well, with its old school feel. But, when you put that logo with that uniform, it is just too jarring of a style clash for me to like. Either keep Elvis, and change the rest of the uniform, or keep the uniform, and bring Patriot Pat back.