The San Francisco 49ers — who will be one of eight teams this season to receive a new “Rivalries” uniform — have announced what they are calling a “refreshed brand kit.” In so doing, have they dropped some hints at what their forthcoming Rivalries uniform will be?
The Niners have stated, “The 49ers Faithful may have begun to notice a change in the creative elements and visual themes across all digital platforms. These visual themes will be updated onto all social platforms, our team website, the official 49ers app, any email communications from the team and beyond.”
The team first teased the refresh on social media, confirming it this morning.
The focal point of the refresh is what the team is calling the “Floating” SF logo, and in a splash photo announcing the change, the SF is shown in three different colors across three different backgrounds. “SF” appears in a what is a shaded/gradient gold, as well as in red and black.
According to the team, the “Floating SF” logo made its first appearance on 49ers helmets in 1962, “the iconic SF logo originated without any outline border on the lettering as it sat centered in a bold red oval. The intertwined SF remained without a black border on the lettering until 1989. The core SF lettering, extracted from both borders and the oval, now serves as the signature element in the Floating SF logo. Simple, classic, and clean, the Floating SF takes the spotlight for an array of new 49ers design elements.”
You can check out more of the 49ers helmet history here. Back in 1962, the 49ers were a red and silver team. And if you’re really curious, you can check out the entire 49ers uniform history here.
In addition, the 49ers have unveiled what they are calling “Faithful Script.”
Per the 49ers, “The earliest history of San Francisco was often found penned in the Spencerian handwriting script that originated in the United States at the time of the 1849 Gold Rush. The spirit of the ’49er and the devotion of The Faithful are embodied in the free-flowing Faithful Script. The font’s fluidness serves as a connective anchor to the bold fonts and big ideas emblematic of our modern-day Golden State.”
How the new “Faithful” script relates to any future uniforms is as yet unclear.
Further, the team has altered their color palette, drawing from the “rich landscapes throughout Northern California, and is coupled with the playful naming of the signature colors Montana Red, Primetime Black, Heritage Cream, and the Gold Rush Gradient.”
Two of the colors clearly reference two very impactful former players: Joe Montana and Deion “Prime Time” Sanders. The “Heritage Cream” is a completely new color — interestingly shown with red lettering on the cream background; two of the three other colors are also shown using the cream color as a contrast. The “Gold Rush” gradient is pictured with black lettering. Lest you think the team is dropping white, “these shades will also complement the color white, which is a mainstay within the 49ers uniform,” per the team.
There’s more: the 49ers have also introduced a new shape which they’re referring to as “Western Container.”
San Francisco describes it thusly: “From the Victorian homes lining the streets of San Francisco to the art deco landmarks known around the world in the city by the Bay, the shapes of the architecture of the West Coast are noted for fusing rounded edges with angular corners. An homage to the end-zone clock which also served as a scoreboard at Kezar Stadium, the first home of the San Francisco 49ers, our Western Container is a frame for all manner of new imagery while carrying the various styles of our historic structures.”
Here’s a look at the Kezar Stadium clock — the similarities are there.
Finally, and in what could be the biggest hint so far on the forthcoming Rivalries uniforms, is what the team describes as “Map Texture Design.”
The storytelling on this one is … something: “The prospectors and pioneers who flocked to Northern California in the mid-1800s relied on maps to navigate the trails in search of fortune. While many of those early trails and settlements have faded into history, their legacy lives on in the region’s transformation—from gold mines to innovation hubs like Silicon Valley. Our Map Texture design draws inspiration from that history, incorporating elements that reflect the movement, exploration, ambition, and growth that have shaped California. These textures nod to the journeys that brought generations here—many of whom are now part of the 49ers Faithful.”
As we’ve seen with so many sublimated NBA and MLB “City” jerseys, will the 49ers use the map texture inside any cream elements? While I don’t believe the Niners (or any team) would go full sublimation for a jersey, I could easily see the map texture pattern inside any cream elements (logo, stripes, wordmark, numbers) the team uses for its Rivalry uniform.
Phew. That’s a lot to digest. Does any of it hint at the new unis the AFC East and NFC West (“Rivalries”) will be receiving later this year? Perhaps. It seems clear Nike is intending to do to the NFL what it has done with MLB (“City Connect”) and the NBA (“City Edition”). So the storytelling involved with this new “refresh” has all the hallmarks of the basis of a new uniform. But which — if any — of the new elements would be destined to be the Niners new alternate?
Will the new uniforms be cream? The new color could serve as an accent color. What about “Primetime” black? Would the 49ers opt for another BFBS uniform to fulfill their Rivalries requirement? The return of the “Floating SF” logo is also interesting. Would the team use just the “SF” as their helmet logo for the new uni?
Honestly, I could see the 49ers Rivalry uniform using the gradient gold shade for their helmet, with a red (or black, ugh) “floating SF” logo, a red jersey with cream stripes and numbers (with a map texture gradient), and perhaps cream pants. And the new “Faithful” script as a jersey wordmark above the numbers.
Or, it could be something completely different. Do you find these to be clues to a new uni?
Since we can only guess at the general direction Nike/NFL is going with the future Rivalries kits (although based on what was done with the “City” uniforms in MLB and the NBA, those probably give us a roadmap as to how they’ll eventually turn out), for now we should just wait and see.
Thoughts?
It wouldn’t be the first time parchment was an inspiration for a uniform — 2007/8 Sixers jersey with the word “Philadelphia” on the front. I thought that City Edition was really, really cool.
Red helmet gradient gold SF. Gold jersey with sublimated CA/map yoke (yolk?). Red numbers. Red pants with gradient gold stripes. Gradient gold socks with same sublimation CA/map as the shoulder yoke. That’s a city connect!
Use of “Prime Time” in reference to Sanders is idiotic for a team with such a rich history.
It is a little bit strange, I mean the guy was a great player and yes, he was a huge piece that helped them win the Super Bowl in ’94… but like.. he was only there for one year lol.
Yeah, as a niners fan who was born right at the start of their 80’s dynasty, names that come to mind “historically” regarding the team and their success are Montana, Rice, Young, Walsh, Seifert, Craig, Lott, Owens, and Clark, but none of those have the cache of “primetime”. Though a reference to Rice’s occasional nickname “goldfingers” could have easily been worked in, barring any meddling from Amazon’s IP lawyers.
There’s no way they’re referencing Deion with the name. For one thing, his nickname is almost always rendered as two words (“Prime Time,” as Phil himself writes it in this article). It’s confusing next to Montana Red, but I’m positive Primetime Black is just referring to the night sky during evening games.
Yeah you’re spot on – it has nothing to do with Deion, other teams have called black alts “primetime” looks before, which does make me wonder where their thinking is long term around black unis (which i think should work really well with the niners colors and branding but past execution has been lacking whether or not you like BFBS)
I agree, great player deserving of the nickname, but his contribution to the 49ers is only a fingerprint compared to other players who could have been chosen to be represented. Ronnie Lott maybe?
Check out this video of the NY Jets’ equipment manager putting a helmet together for one of the rookies in minicamp: link link
Take a look at 1:06. There appear to be a pair of dark silver or pewter (actual pewter, not Tampa Bay Bucs pewter) helmet shells (Vicis Zero2, specifically) on the table, along with the primary green and white throwback shells. These don’t appear to be the regular BFBS alternate shells. Could these be part of the “Rivalries” thing? Or are they just unpainted shells? (I checked Vicis’s website and they don’t appear to come in that color, so….)
Ugh, I hope they are just unpainted. Otherwise, perhaps this will be some silly “shining like the Chrysler Building” story telling nonsense. Fingers crossed that won’t be the case.
How about the actual finish of a jet fighter?
It is 100% the regular BFBS helmet, just under different lighting so it looks a little weird.
So the “Floating SF” appears to be just the current mark minus the black outline and drop shadow, no modifications (I dropped one on top of the other in Pshop and it all lined up).
On first viewing, it bugged me a little, cuz removing the drop shadow makes for some different-sized gaps, but I think I’m over that now. :P
The simplicity of a one-colour (or metallic) SF on a 2nd colour is very nice, imo.
Reserving judgment on the rest. Praying these “rivalry” unis don’t go off the deep end like MLB!
If their rivalry jersey has a sublimated map on the numbers that would be awesome. Really though I can see the helmets almost having a Notre Dame gold effect.
I think they probably brought in the cream color because that will be color of the alternate jersey. In any case, that was a bunch of nonsense and nothing of substance, like all the Nike alternate uniforms. This is just a little tease of the disaster to come with the NFL CC.
When they announced the “rivalry” uniforms, was it stated that the teams would wear them against each other, or is it just going to be the home team in the rivalry uniform vs the standard away uniform for the road team? If the Niners are going with a cream uniform it could be so we see some color vs color when the special uniforms are matched up. Niners in cream, Cardinals in red, Seahawks in blue or green, Rams in yellow or blue. All division uniforms would contrast enough for color vs color matchups.
I don’t think this work has anything to do with the rivalry series. This feels more in line with the overall trend in team branding to push “modern classicism” – similar to Cleveland bringing back brownie. I think it may have implications for a general uniform update, and new designs like the rivalry series need to fit in the brand package – but not the other way around.
My hunch is that the rivalry series is catching up to the chatter around why Nike/NFL didn’t just do “throwback thursdays” when color rush was launched, and the intent will be for both teams to wear classic or classic inspired looks when playing head to head. Color-on-color would be a fun element to add to that, to your points. If that is the plan it’s a much better approach than the color rush (though I get why that was appealing at the time)
I wouldn’t be surprised either way, but I have mixed feelings about this referencing their standard sets. The niners look so good in simple. The burgundy unis, the drop shadow unis, they weren’t good. If and only IF this means the helmet goes gold flake (notre dame style) and the logo goes minimalist, and MAYBE if the topographic lines are INCREDIBLY subtle on the numbers or the yoke, I could stand this. Then again, it sounds like whatever this is foreshadowing, it’s ditching white for “parchment”, which is another “bone/dishwater” mess waiting to happen.
If this is foreshadowing a “rivalry” alt, they can do whatever they want. I don’t care.
Aesthetically, I really like the burgundy sets, I’d love to see a throwback of those someday. It’d look even better updated to the current (Montana, I guess) red, but I like the gold trim and accents and such. There are a lot of stylistic similarities between those unis and the Jaguars’ Prowlers everyone loves, at least in my eyes
Aesthetically, I really like the burgundy sets, I’d love to see a throwback or reinvention of those someday. They’d look even better updated to the current (Montana, I guess) red, but I like the gold trim and accents and such. There are a lot of stylistic similarities between those unis and the Jaguars’ Prowlers everyone loves, at least in my eyes.
Hah I opened up my laptop and it decided to just post that comment again, oops
The emphasis on gold and describing how it can both “sparkle and shine” has me hopeful that they update the helmets and pants to a more Notre Dame color. Would look really good, imo.
Leave it to Mike to over explain why they are stopping away the “modern” doodads like drop shadows and outlines for the simple color on color designs of the past and then make “primetime black” the second color on their new color palette, plus suggest a gradient and a map texture will be added to the design language.
I expect to turn off NFL games when I don’t recognize the teams immediately like I do NBA games when this starts.
I agree. AND, I wish the NBA would return to the home team wearing white so we (most of the time) get contrast from the visiting team on the court. Watching the Celtics wear green at home just blends everything in.
These alternates are getting out of hand. The league already gives teams plenty of leeway without adding city connect-style monstrosities like major league baseball.
Don’t know if it’s just me, but the “color palette” pic and “Western Container” pic aren’t showing up, in Safari or Chrome, and the “Faithful” script took forever to load in both.
I thought they weren’t loading for me either, but it just took a loooong time. Long like enough time for me to read the entire article, then the comments, then scroll back up to finally see them loaded.
Also, this seemed odd to me. In one paragraph where the team is quoted as, “The spirit of the ’49er and the devotion of The Faithful are embodied in the free-flowing Faithful Script.”
What’s with the apostrophe in front of 49er? I’ve never seen that before, and they even write 49er in another spot *without* the apostrophe.
All this horrible marketing blabla will add up to a very disappointing uniform, I am quite sure. Nike and the NFL must have talked to some teenagers who never go to Niners games and asked them: at what point would you start wearing a 49ers team jersey replica? OK, so this is the new Rivalries uniform. Now wear it, tell your insta followers to do the same and we will reard you handsomely. Selling stuff in 2025.
Sigh. Nike is bringing its CC garbage to the NFL. And since the NFL has NEVER left a dollar on the table, we can now expect a yearly influx of unneeded and ugly alt uniforms. All of which will be for sale online and at all team stores. Cha-ching.
I hate when teams come up with some long winded excuse for this crap. A simple “The league sold out to Nike, here’s our catastrophe” is fine enough.