HOOVER

I appreciate that the artist made the fleur-de-lis match the number font, but it does look odd, and removing an outline does make it look smaller. Perhaps they should use this version if they ever use a White helmet: The additional thick Black border keeps the original logo intact, and on a White helmet, the White outline wouldn't be lost next to the helmet, and it gives the logo back its weight. I'd have to see it in real life to determine if it truly works, but it's a thought. Check that: it's what the Saints do when they use their logo on White, so that's what they'd have to do on a helmet, which looks great:

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

They will need to tighten up this rule eventually, I think - and I hope. I'm a Chiefs fan, so I'll use some of these guys as examples. QBs should be limited to 0-19. No NFL QB should ever have to wear something higher than #19. RBs should be limited to 0-9, 20-49. I love Isiah Pacheco. But I hate him in #10. WRs should be limited to 0-19, 80-89. I like Skyy Moore, but a receiver wearing #24 looks stupid. DL/LBs should be limited to 40-79, 90-99. I appreciate what Carlos Dunlap did for the Chiefs this year, but he looked ridiculous wearing #8. Nick Bolton looked better in #54 than he did in #32. DBs should be limited to 0-9, 20-49. No DB needs to wear a number in the teens. Reserve those numbers for QBs, WRs, Ks, and Ps.

Would this very smart and likely very handsome concept-maker like to share where another very smart and likely very handsome concept-maker might be able to download the template in .psd format?

Ah, my brother from another mother. Words can't express how I feel when I see someone else who gets it.

Thanks for posting; I mentioned this before I think and now I'm going back on my thought. This makes you realize that Light or even Medium Grey looks like primer when used as a flat helmet finish. Dark Greys, like Anthracite, work well, but the light stuff just looks like a primed auto part, even with gloss or metallic decals. I think Detroit is best represented with a finish that has some sort of metallic in it. Anodized Silver may be worth looking at, but honestly what they have now works well.

Amen on all of your comments, and this one I especially agree with. If they wanted to keep the font, at least revert to a standard, non-italicized version of it, and for God's sakes, increase the size of the digits. But I'd rather see something new, bold and thicker. Maybe take inspiration from the Ford Raptor grill and build a bolder number font from it:

While I'm on a heater here, can we talk about how insane it is that New Orleans hasn't updated their uniforms to have the Color Rush Gold made into their primary Gold, and why a White helmet to go with their CR White uniforms isn't the alternate instead of the horrific Black helmet they unveiled last year? Shout out to The Graphic God on Twitter who does these quality mock-ups. Also, here's support for the argument that the NFL should allow Black helmet hardware & chinstraps:

I want all of you, especially you monochrome uniform haters, to remember this image every time you suggest a Honolulu Blue Detroit Lions helmet...because this is what you'll get: (How nice is that jersey, though?)

Speaking of Colorado...their Dark Steel Grey helmets over Black jersey & Grey pants are just a beautiful, beautiful combination. I still can't believe the Falcons didn't do this: Imagine the Falcons logo on that helmet. Red accents on the uniform. Red outlines on the numbers. Uniform would be too similar to the better football team in Georgia, I guess:

Patriots are still wearing the standard Silver/Grey. You are correct in that it is light, which is most evident when the Seahawks wear their full Grey alternates or just Grey pants. It's probably why Nike developed Dark Steel Grey 8 or so years ago. I believe Colorado and Oregon were the first to wear it. Colorado looks amazing when they wear it with their matching helmet. What's confusing is that Nike sometimes calls Anthracite uniforms Dark Steel Grey, as they did with Pitt recently; the uniforms are obviously Anthracite, but because Pittsburgh was the "Steel City", I guess that didn't work as well for marketing.

Personally, I feel the Lions would be best-served by reverting back to what most of call the "Barry Sanders Era" uniforms, or a hybrid of that uniform with the current set's striping and fixed font. So either this (preferably with today's Honolulu Blue): OR - this, with perhaps updated fonts for wordmark, numbers, and NOB, and possibly White fill with Silver outline numbers: I then think they should avoid the Blue helmet & Blue pants altogether and make White their Color Rush alternate, as the Bengals did: Yeah, I know..."Icy White". But I can't stand the images I've seen of Blue helmets and I despise the Blue pants. And if they only had 1 set of White pants for their Color Rush uniform, that had striping similar to the above, it would never be worn with the standard Home & Away looks, satisfying many a complaint. Finally, they'd keep the Thanksgiving uniforms as their Throwbacks. That gives them: 1. Iconic, but updated, Home & Away uniforms 2. Modern Color Rush ALT (only time White pants are worn) 3. Traditional Thanksgiving Throwbacks Something for everyone that should satisfy most fans. The franchise gets 3 helmets & 4 jerseys to sell. Not sure how anyone could be unhappy with this.

Except what you're referring to as "Anthracite" is not Anthracite. This is Anthracite: This is Dark Steel Grey: If you can't tell the difference, here are both used in the same uniform:

The standard home & away here are PERFECT. Good job. I think this is pretty much what everyone would appreciate seeing. I think it would be worth them doing a different paint finish on the facemask if reverting back to Blue; maybe just a matte or maybe a chrome. An anodized Silver with chrome Blue mask & details might be a way to tinker and make it stand out, but it wouldn't require that to be good. I don't agree with the Blue helmet, the oversized logo on the Blue helmet, or Blue pants; I actually hate the Blue pants in general because the team wears a Silver helmet and the Blue pants create a bottom-heavy, unbalanced look. I would instead bring back the White pants and offer a White helmet instead of Blue. I know many don't like the White pants, but my reasoning is this: if Grey jersey/Grey Pant is the Color Rush alternate, have an "Away" Color Rush option (all White) for when they're on road for a CR game. This gives them a Penn State-style "White Out" uniform, but also makes the White pants available for their standard Away jersey, and even gives them another home combination in White/Royal/White/Royal.

Nice post. I very much appreciate your approach, logic, and presentation. This 1-sheet format is really nice, kudos. Looking forward to seeing more! Feedback on this Defenders redesign: - definite upgrade to the helmet with the Pentagon logo - jersey remains mostly the same, which I agree it should. I'm not sold on the collar being converted to a 3-stripe design. It works, but the current jersey works well as-is. I'd definitely be interested in seeing it in real-life. - jersey font to a standard block is actually a downgrade for me, and I'm a giant full block guy; I think in the case of the Defenders, they would do really well with a military-style font, whether it's a stencil font or something like the Air Force font. - Pant upgrade is great. Lots they could've done here but this one works. Even a few stars on the side panels would've worked, or bringing in the secondary logo the way they did on the sleeve stripe. Either way, adding a White pant is an absolute necessity given they wear White helmets; a White pant with the White Camo printed side panel with a thin Red stripe and/or Red stars down the side would've also been good. One way you could make this even better is to find or create the new UA jersey template. I actually dig the chest cut-ins where they place the XFL & UA logos.

As a resident of Orlando, FL, I agree.

The more I watch this game, the more I think they would have been perfect if they were all White with the logo on each side. Would’ve looked like h the Oilers but with Navy instead of Luv Ya, but with a Navy mask, would’ve looked really nice.

I like it. Would rather they have the Guardian “G” but this logo fits nice on this helmet, especially at this size. The New York logo was obnoxiously oversized:

Spot on. Dark Green fill on the sleeve numbers and Dark Green fill inside the Neon Green pant stripes and this would be a respectable set, minus the number font and hazard stripe on the helmet. Really like the Light Grey in this uniform, though. Reminds me of a brand design I did for a semi-pro team years ago that used Anthracite, White and Volt. Houston’s gradient numbers stink, as does the font and gradient pant stripe, but I actually don’t mind the White yoke at all. A few simple changes per team and this league would look pretty darn good.

Yes. The original Roughnecks helmet was actually really nice. Would’ve worked with a Navy facemask too. This new one is a mess. Would’ve been better if it was just Navy.

Even my wife pointed how badly mismatch the shades are. Look, it happens…colors don’t always match across mediums. But this looks like the league used maybe the former Pantone for the helmet paint, rather than, you know, updating it to match UA’s “Light Blue” or whatever they call it.

I’ve been especially harsh on this XFL and UA, but today’s presentation, as far as uniforms & apparel goes, is not awful. I don’t love the Renegades shoulder stripe, but their look overall is very unique and the pops of Red really make the look. If the had kept the previous helmet, I would be a big fan. White pants with the Blue jersey will be nice look if they wear it. This color scheme is what any team playing in Houston should be wearing. The numbers with the Red inner stripe are great, even if the foot isn’t my favorite and UA does their numbers too small. This is what I suggested the Baltimore Ravens do in another thread for a potential redesign. Yes, Vegas’s logos are stupid, but their uniforms are solid. Gives be UCF Space Game uniform vibes, which is a compliment. The satin fish of the Black helmet is perfect. Font is mostly not good but it could be worse. Curious now to see how the rest of the league looks in live action.

Didn’t even know they were playing tomorrow.

So up to this point, no team has confirmed new logos or uniforms for the 2023 season, correct? Officially, we can expect new alternate helmets and throwback/alternate uniforms?

I've long hated Philly's uniforms, but seeing them walk out on Sunday gave me a new appreciation for them. If they updated the wordmark to the new one and got rid of the horrific number font, they could keep these and would be just fine. It's truly the wordmark/number font that makes these feel dated; change them out, and it's actually a very clean, solid look. Wouldn't hurt to add a Green or Green/Black sock, though the White didn't bother me as much as I thought it would in this game. They should throw their Black jerseys, pants, sock & helmet in the trash forever, though. Have they ever worn Green socks with their Green jerseys/White pants combo?