HOOVER

I tried this on Madden last night also and I still hate it. Really a shame they didn't choose the White alt helmet design instead as it would have worked so much better with all 3 jerseys they have.

So, since we're leaning into possible NFL 2023 Changes with all this Texans talk, I fired up Madden '23 last night and started a Franchise with the Detroit Lions. Choosing their 1990's uniforms, I was really impressed with how that set looked on today's players. Who here would support Detroit bringing back the Barry Sanders uniforms? Here's that set on Cory Schlesinger, the last of the giant shoulder pads + neck roll legends: Personally, I think these are just about a half step down from Green Bay, Kansas City, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, etc. on the classic traditional looks, but still way better than any uniform they've worn since. If they wanted to re-establish their brand, they could go back to their roots and don the look most people know them buy. It has worked well for the Buccaneers. If I knew how to get screenshots from Madden, I'd post them. I'm almost 40 and don't know how these things work anymore, someone educate me. Yay or Nay? No Blue pants though...that killed this set.

Very cool, thank you. Considering this is what they were wearing previously, I'm proud I was able to steer them towards a much-needed update: Imagine being a Division I program (FCS) in 2020 and wearing stock off-the-shelf team uniforms that the local yokel tackle twilled names & numbers on. This is what happens when the wrong people are on the job. I wouldn't put a varsity high school team in these uniforms. When they rebranded in 2018, they literally ripped off the old Stetson wordmark on the chest, just left it blank, and slapped the new logo on the shoulders. Horrific. That's what the previous sales rep and the university's equipment manager at the time came up with. Really sad work. When I took over, they had hired a new EQ Manager who was coming from an FBS Division I, and we really went to work to try to treat the brand the way you're supposed to. Some coaches get it, some have egos too big to care...always a fun process. To Stetson's credit, they did the aforementioned rebrand with Bosack in 2018. Joe knows how I feel, so I'm not stepping out of line here, but true to form, he provided them a really solid logo & set of wordmarks...but then complicated things by adding a custom color...one not in Nike's team color library...and a custom athletic number font. Both of the latter 2 things are awesome for athletic identities when it comes to branding & digital reproduction, but are an absolute nightmare when it comes to wearables and when working with Nike, as they don't like adding custom colors, the process to use custom fonts is painstaking, and it costs the customer a lot more money. It took forever to get Nike to add Stetson's Hatter Green, as it has to go through a very specific process. It's not just "hey, here are my pantone colors, make it." But right after I left, my successor completed that process and I believe they're using it now and they look great in just about every sport as they've got them using Nike custom & sublimated uniforms rather than screen printing stock stuff, which is not what a university of that level should've been doing. I actually suggested the STETSON workmark on both the Home & Away jerseys, as well as pant stripes, but they wanted HATTERS on the Home and didn't want pant stripes. I was really pushing for them to add an NFL-style striped sock to match their jersey stripes, but with the way players wear their leggings/socks/sleeves/etc. these days, they knew most of them wouldn't wear them even if they were told to. These sets would be helped more by changing to a traditional 2-color helmet stripe, ala LSU, but I digress. That all being said, very satisfied with how these came out and happy for their program and players. The admin team there was great to work with and most of the people were quality people. Nice campus in old Deland, Florida, not far from where I live outside of Orlando.

This is all I can see:

I didn’t know this was your work! Well-done. I’d love to see the Navy jersey with Red Yokes and White Sleeve Caps. The White jersey is perfect, though I think the number colors would be best inverted if being worn with Navy pants. Both of those sets would look incredible with a Navy helmet/Red mask. The White pants are perfect. Number font isn’t bad, the details fit. I think if they were slightly wider and had square edges, they’d be really good. As far as designing uniforms for a living, on my side of things, it wasn’t nearly as glamorous as it seems: I worked for the country’s largest team sporting goods dealer, and we were the main team dealers to small colleges, high schools and everything lower for Nike, UA, and most of the major brands of apparel, uniforms, and equipment except adidas. Sounds super cool, but honestly, it was a nightmare. The cool part was working with some of the coaches and ADs and bringing brands like Nike and UA to them, but most folks in that field aren’t that smart, aren’t that professional, and have egos the size of Texas. In the instances where I was given the trust to do my job, the freedom to deliver was great. Most of the time, though, you just had to give the customer what they wanted, even if it was terrible and they didn’t know it. People in those jobs are super cheap, don’t get paid much, and thus expect everything for free. Very frustrating. Things became 100x worse when on our side, our business infrastructure was horrific, support was non-existent, and pay was peanuts. On top of all that, Nike & UA didn’t give a crap about us, and didn’t give a crap about having inventory or delivering on-time. Most stressful job of my life and I never even crossed 6 figures in a year. Don’t get me started on the decoration side of the business or the corporate culture. Now, I sell blank t-shirts, fleece, and onesies for a manufacturer most people have never heard of, have bosses that let me do my job, and make 4-5x what I made selling Nike & UA, without any of the stress or headaches. So, my advice to you if you want to be in the uniform design biz is to get in the door with Nike or UA or Adidas or New Balance etc. Don’t do what I did and think you’ll get in the door by starting on the sales side. Stetson has a neat brand, but it was presented so poorly when I took over the account. I was only servicing them for about a year or so before I took my current job, but so much of that comes down to who is managing the brand at each institution. You’ve gotta have someone like us doing it or else you get a complete mess. Just turned this Texans game on. I hate these Red helmets. If they do a redesign, it needs to be White with Navy facemask or Navy with Red facemask.

Goodness gracious, these are terrible, too! The only one with potential is the Battlehawk, which, if built upon, would've been an upgrade. As-is, would look terrible on a helmet, merch, etc. It's amazing to me with all of the great artists out there, that this is what this league went with. Have mercy.

I think the Texans could get away with keeping their Navy helmet if they just swapped out to a Vikings-like satin paint finish and a Red face guard. I used to work with Shippensburg University and always thought their helmet looked good: Another shameless plug: this was their Alt Grey (Nike Pewter, only grey available at the time outside of Anthracite) uni that I did for them when they signed their Nike deal back in 2015. I believe they still wear it for Homecoming. If they ever decide to replace this old set, I hope they replicate the same uniform, just updating to Nike's better Dark Steel Grey, their custom wordmark, and a current Nike Font (RIP Ithaca font, you were discontinued too soon). A Navy collar wouldn't hurt . Always thought it was a great look for them, and I mention it here to show how Grey can work really well with Navy & Red:

The Houston Texans would be wise to update their look. It's time. I, for one, am not a fan of the Battle Red helmet, though I will reserve final judgement until seeing it tonight. I feel Navy or Red are not ideal helmets for them; I think White is the proper choice and in Houston, it just makes sense due to the Oilers history. I feel the logo gets lost on either color, Navy or Red, and would stand out best on White, with the addition of striping. I do have an affinity for White helmets with Navy masks, especially when Red is the 3rd color. This sure is a solid concept: I'd love to see a Navy jersey in this template. Shoulder yoke makes me think of the Texas flag; might be able to drop a Star onto the outside shoulder and have the Nike Swoosh be an opposite color than said star. Navy & White home & away jerseys would be all you'd need; Red could be an alt, but I think a Grey "Space City" themed uniform (NASA influences) could also be a nice 3rd. Think UCF Space Game unis, but with Navy & Red instead of Black/Blue. Keeping the helmet Navy wouldn't be a loss, but I think the addition of some sort of striping and a different paint finish would help it not feel so bland. Lastly, I'd like to see bolder, square-edged fonts come back into play. One of the last projects I worked on at my former employer was designing new football uniforms for Stetson University. They have a proprietary font that isn't my favorite, but works well here with how big we were able to get Nike to make them (10" front, 12" back...Nike Team originally had 8" front, 10" back, then went to 10"/12", and is now back to 9"/11"): NOTE: I had no say in the helmet stripe, that was existing. And I pushed for matching striped socks but it was a no-go.

Yes, this worked just fine with the old template. I suspect it could be done with a new template, but the current one hasn't worked well. The LA Rams offer the solution if the Panthers have to keep this template, but they'd have to lose the sleeve logos, which is fine. Or, as others said, just drop the TV numbers like half of the rest of the league is doing.

1. If you don't understand the difference between NFL vs Arena Football aesthetics, I'd probably sit by quietly and observe the board for awhile before throwing out outlandish uniform redesign ideas. The NFL is steeped in tradition, and has, from that tradition, some of the most revered and tried & true uniform design concepts in its history. New upstart leagues, or colleges trying to win recruits with "icy" and "fire" uniforms, don't have history or notable tradition to adhere to, so they try more trendy design tactics to catch the eyes of 12-20 year olds boys to get them to like their team. This has resulted in, over the years, some wildly terrible aesthetic design choices. This trend has crept into the NFL as well, unfortunately, but the best uniforms continue to be those that are timeless. Let's compare: 2. No, the Panthers do not look like the Raiders, as the Raiders are a 2-color theme and the Panthers are a 3-color team. The Blue makes the difference, and it's a big one. Are the Packers the same as the Jets? How about the Chiefs and Cardinals? Maybe the Patriots & Texans? As for the Jaguars, we're not talking about them. They just did a redesign 2-3 seasons ago and have several more to continue wearing them, and their intent when unveiling those uniforms was to not have to redesign them again for a very long time. So, it makes zero sense for the Panthers to design a new uniform that looks....just like the Jaguars. The Black helmet looking better than the Silver helmet is your opinion and you're allowed to have it. I still think it sucks and I think most people with an understanding of balanced uniform design will agree with me that the Silver serves Carolina better, as the Black & Blue contrast extremely well off of it. There's no reason discussing removing a number from the design, as all helmets should have the logo on each side of the helmet for symmetry's sake. I don't care of Boise State does it. They're irrelevant. They installed Blue turf. Who wants to be recruited to play football in the state of Idaho? 3. Did you just say the pants look like....Panther fur? Jesus. I'm not going over Silver Nike pants with yet another person. They can make them. If they use decades-old dazzle mesh fabric technology, rather than a material that performs better and fits & feels better on the athletes. Silver/Grey are the same thing. They don't need to match when crossing mediums; paint is not fabric. The Silver adds a lot...like a whole level of depth to the design. It's like thinking 2D & 3D are the same thing. 4. Yes, multiple teams wear a combination of Black helmets, Black jerseys, and White pants. Let's not add another. Only the Patriots & Raiders still have Silver helmets. There are now 8 total Black helmets in the NFL. There are 4 Silver helmets, including the Panthers. We don't need more teams with Black helmets. 5. I can't translate what your point is here, other than saying that italic number fonts would be an improvement over the most timeless athletic number font in sports history. I think Lions & Steelers fans would disagree. And the concept you posted had 1-color numbers, which is what the Jags just did, so yes, at minimum, you'd have to outline them, as that's one of the biggest complaints people have about the Jags unis. Again, having an opinion is fine. I believe most people will just disagree with your's.

Since I took a moment to reply with snark, I'll take another minute or two to reply respectfully, as I always hated the straight snark replies on this board. The Photoshop work is done well on this design, I think most will agree. Most will likely disagree whether this is a good concept. This is why: 1. Scratch/Claw marks - this is very bush league. You'd see this kind of mark in the former Arena League, or on low-budget school or community sports teams that aren't buying Nike, UA, or Adidas uniforms. In fact, I used to see a lot of this kind of stuff in the all-over sublimated "semi-pro" uniforms people used to order from Facebook for like $29.99. It's hokey. We get that they're the Panthers, but this is the NFL, not the Indoor Semi-Pro Regional Football Comeback League. They are done about as tastefully as one could do them in this design, but a skunk is a skunk...it stinks. The Michigan Wolverines don't have claw marks on their uniforms. Think that way. This is football, not X-Men. 2. Black 1-Sided Helmet - we've seen from this year's alternate helmet that Black, while in theory might've seemed "fire", looks like garbage on the field with the current uniforms as it throws off all balance, and honestly, in this mock-up, it looks way too similar to what Jacksonville's actual uniforms look like now. Also, I know the Chargers did it, and it doesn't mean they should have or that anyone else should, but the 1-sided number only works, ever, on traditional, throwback looks when the uniform is so plain and old school that the number actually adds design value. Here, you're competing with a 90's logo, oversized on one side of the helmet, and then you have a small, modern, italicized font on the other? Doesn't work. The AAF was another example of how not to do it. 3. Missing Silver - this design has taken one of the franchise's core colors completely out of the equation, diluting not just the design aesthetic, but the brand itself. 4. Color Combos - removing Silver eliminated their best combo....Black over Silver...and the lack of Silver helmet makes it even worse. We have enough teams that wear Black jerseys over White pants: Cardinals, Falcons, Ravens, Eagles, Bengals, Jaguars. The Black/White/Blue combo is not great, and again too similar to the Jags. 5. Number Font - might look cool as a team brand font, but not for jersey numbers. Italicized numbers are hard to pull off on football jerseys; see Detroit. To do it, the numbers must be thick and blocky, but even then it can be odd. While I'm a fan of 1-color numbers on football jerseys, in this case, this uniform just looks way too much like Jacksonville, and takes a dramatic step away from Carolina's existing brand image, which is not terrible by any means. Their current number font is classic, and provides a nice contrast to the 90's design aspects of their uniform. It's really a nice mix of traditional with modern touches that weren't over-the-top that just work really well with their color scheme. I think people fantasize about re-designing the Panthers because it seems sexy to use this great color palette and the aggressive Panther logo/brand, and the current uniforms have the issue with the TV numbers and their bad combo choices, but this team really doesn't need a major update, if one at all. They could remove the TV numbers, or Nike could build them a new template that or modify the shoulder stripes to better fit (this could also be achieved by dropping the Panther logo from the sleeve and moving the striping onto the sleeve panel, like the Rams did), MAYBE slightly modify their traditional full block number font, modify their helmet stripe (which is definitely dated) & maybe their pant stripe, and they'd be set. They should scrap their Blue Color Rush uniforms altogether and use that as the opportunity taken with a light update to trot out some fun, experimental, futuristic Oregon-style Blue uniform with alternate Blue or White helmet, but these uniforms right here are just a few tweaks shy of being perfect: NOTE: Panthers wore Black socks/accessories with their White/White uniforms vs the Falcons last weekend; is this maybe the 2nd or 3rd time they've done that ? They normally wore Blue, then lately it's been White, but I don't recall ever seeing them wear this much Black with their White/White combo, except maybe once before and WOW...I like it. Should be a permanent change. Ties in with the Black numbers perfectly.

Yeah, totally fire, bro.

Renegades secondary should be their primary. Defenders secondary in the shape of the Pentagon is logical and an upgrade. Orlando's "G" secondary is an upgrade over their primary. Shame they didn't just make it an "O" like Oregon. I hope this logo is what goes on the helmet. Houston secondary is neat. Would be a better helmet logo than the primary. Brahmas secondary looks like the Burgatory restaurant logo. Seattle secondary is crap. STL's secondary is light years better than their primary. I dig the updated typeface - they should have indeed emulated Army West Point's branding throughout - but the primary is just horrific. The LV is just unforgivable. Completely detached from the primary and the White outline makes it even worse. I simply cannot believe this is what this group came up with. Good god.

Anyone have any idea which design firm swindled them on this crap?

Seriously, the longer I look at these, the worse they get. What the hell is that Renegades logo? !? The was the only holdover worth anything; it was a modern classic. Jeepers creepers. I love Orlando's color choice, and the San Antonio Yellow has potential if paired with Dark Grey as teased yesterday (but absent in today's reveal). Can't believe they just recycled Seattle & St. Louis, who were horrific to begin with. I've got a report to complete, but I'll be back to critique this in full.

Both reveal videos for those interested in ruining their Halloween morning. I'll post a full review shortly, but this is incredibly underwhelming & disappointing. I've long said the decisions around team names, colors, logos and uniforms is the prime indicator on whether an upstart league will make it. I give XFL 3.0 two seasons, tops, and that's just because Dwayne will refuse to accept failure after the first season.

I'm surprised we have had no additional leaks. I still can't believe they kept the 2020 team names/colors, if the one leak is accurate. First tragic mistake of this reboot, if true. Outside of the Dallas Renegades and their colors/marks, which they're diluting by renaming them "Arlington", nothing was worth keeping, and shuffling team names between cities (Guardans from NY to ORL) is just really stupid. Houston always should've been Black, Red, and Light Blue, anyway. I'm curious as to when we'll see uniforms. One has to think UA is involved, either under the UA brand or Project Rock, or both. I'm sure Dwayne was tempted to put his little Brahma Bull logo on every uniform, helmet & cleat, but if not for actually naming the whole San Antonio team after his wrestling nickname.

I can somewhat understand your position, except that the Raiders are just Black & Silver and the Lions have, historically outside of the Megatron years, not featured Black. You're comparing 2-color team schemes to a 3-color team scheme. The Falcons are also at their best when they have Silver working under their Black & Red; without it, again, the scheme falls flats, with only 2 layers of contrast instead of 3. The Silver in these designs simply give the scheme more contrast, which gives it more depth & weight. You have the darkest tone (Black), and middle greytone (Silver) and the pop of bright color (Red for Falcons or Blue for Carolina). Without that mid-tone, the two extremes compete with each other, rather than have separation. Not sure if that makes sense. This is my art side of my brain speaking. Might've never used that 6-figure college degree for what it was intended for, but I do feel I've got a grasp on color (as I should...had to take Color Theory twice). It's also 11:43pm and I'm hopped up on Halloween candy.

One of the nicer concepts I've seen, but the Black helmet and dismissal of Silver is a no-go for me. Silver is really important in this combo, otherwise they're just the Falcons, re-colored. The Black helmet looks horrible in real life, in my opinion. The Silver base color, with the Black & Panther Blue with White accents all work seamlessly together for a great pop with balance. Removing the Silver reduces a layer of contrast that makes the design very flat. Also, their best look, as someone recently pointed out, is Silver Helmet/Black Jersey/Silver Pants. The Black helmet over White Jersey/White Pants or the disgusting White Jersey/Black Pants combo would be horrific, and too close to what the Jaguars already try to pull off. Silver must stay.

I'm the opposite. I'd love to see the concept finally succeed. But this looks like a poor rehash. Color schemes & leaked team names are barely an improvement over the last iteration. I hope 12 hours from now, we see these full looks and they're tremendous, but this tease has me wrestling with a bad feeling in my gut.

I know they're just thumbnail teases...but this looks bad.

The Patriots should never wear Navy over Navy again. This is such an improvement and one I personally, like so many others here, have been calling for from the start of this uniform set. I hope they wear it with their White jerseys, too. Quick test on Madden proves that it looks better than White over Navy (because, duh, their helmet is Silver).

I think UCF would do well by itself to officially revert to Citronauts, its original name in '68-69, and adopt their Space Game/Space U colors. Fits so much better than Black & Vegas Gold + Knights, that, for some reason, students in 1970 thought was a good fit for this university. In my opinion, it's their next logical evolution and one that would really separate their brand.

This is the nicest uniform they've ever worn and it's a travesty that their new sets didn't adopt this as the Away design and have coordinating home & CR designs to go with it. It's one of the nicest uniforms worn in the league's recent history. Your opinion is absolutely, positively AWFUL.