USFL 2023 - Uniforms and Logos

[jgiff17]

Panthers Gamblers Breakers Everyone else still better than anything new coming from Nike 

[oldschoolvikings]

2 hours ago, burgundy said:

 

So in this picture the Gamblers are wearing the dark gray pants with their away jerseys. And in their reveal video, they show them wearing both the dark gray and the light gray pants, but the dark gray with white is actually labeled as the Away uniform. So are they wearing both pants, or did they screw up and give them the Bandits' pants for part of the shoot and not bother to fix it?

 

 

 

 

My guess is that's a mistake.  It's obviously the Bandits' pants... there's that little detail at the bottom where the red ends just before the knee... what are the odds they'd give that to both teams?  Slim. Also, every other team has just one pair of pants. Seems like a deliberate decision. It seems hard to believe that only one team would get two pair of pants and they'd be light gray and dark gray?  Don't see it.

[Sodboy13]

6 hours ago, WSU151 said:

I really like Michigan's uniforms (as many do) but I've been trying to think where I've seen that home sleeve stripe design.

 

Then it came to me (back when CU wore its best shade of gold):

 

 

This makes me want one little addition to the new Panthers jersey - light blue pinlines in the numbers.

[Wings2]

I would love to see a modern take on the Oakland Invaders if this league sticks around. 

[mafiaman]

1 hour ago, Wings2 said:

I would love to see a modern take on the Oakland Invaders if this league sticks around. 

Add the Arizona Wranglers and Memphis Showboats to that list too.

[Silver_Star]

1 hour ago, Wings2 said:

I would love to see a modern take on the Oakland Invaders if this league sticks around. 

The true blue and athletic gold is life

[Brian in Boston]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:20 AM, IceCap said:

The eight USFL teams chosen to "revive" may be red-heavy, but they weren't chosen because of aesthetics. They were chosen for business purposes. 

 

Unless your business purpose is to pay homage to the worst overall win-loss percentage in the history of the original USFL, mediocre attendance by said league's standards, and folding after a single season of play, there's really no reason to revive the Pittsburgh Maulers identity.

[Cruhawk7975]

2 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

Unless your business purpose is to pay homage to the worst overall win-loss percentage in the history of the original USFL, mediocre attendance by said league's standards, and folding after a single season of play, there's really no reason to revive the Pittsburgh Maulers identity.

I think the league also placed its teams where it did both partially accounting for a potential XFL return in 2023, but also for geographic reasons. Take a look where each team's namesake market is located: 

 

 

To me I think the USFL is trying to think longer term with its team placement. Following the initial "bubble" season in Birmingham (w/ playoffs in Canton, OH), this is where the "Initial 8" teams would be set up following relocation to home markets.

 

You can see 2 distinct geographic "pods" forming in the Northeast and Gulf Coast. Each team has at least 1 close travel partner within somewhat reasonable driving distance (except for maybe Tampa-Birmingham, which is about a 9hr drive per google maps). I think the league intentionally set this up both to give a chance for more regional rivalries to organically form, and also to help ease logistics and travel costs for subsequent seasons (pending any further expansion/relocation). 

 

That's why I think Pittsburgh was selected despite not having a glowing USFL 1.0 history: they fit the geographic footprint, have potential nearby rivals in Michigan and Philly, and didn't have a popular XFL (2020 version) market (NY, Houston, Tampa all overlap both leagues, but the XFL's Houston team may have to abandon its logos due to trademark disputes with the NFL so they may opt to relocate, plus TB and NY were two of the less supported teams in the XFL at the time - Gamblers, Generals, and Bandits are all stronger brands IMO then the Roughnecks, Guardians, and Vipers are).  

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, Cruhawk7975 said:

I think the league also placed its teams where it did both partially accounting for a potential XFL return in 2023, but also for geographic reasons. Take a look where each team's namesake market is located: 

 

 

To me I think the USFL is trying to think longer term with its team placement. Following the initial "bubble" season in Birmingham (w/ playoffs in Canton, OH), this is where the "Initial 8" teams would be set up following relocation to home markets.

 

You can see 2 distinct geographic "pods" forming in the Northeast and Gulf Coast. Each team has at least 1 close travel partner within somewhat reasonable driving distance (except for maybe Tampa-Birmingham, which is about a 9hr drive per google maps). I think the league intentionally set this up both to give a chance for more regional rivalries to organically form, and also to help ease logistics and travel costs for subsequent seasons (pending any further expansion/relocation). 

 

That's why I think Pittsburgh was selected despite not having a glowing USFL 1.0 history: they fit the geographic footprint, have potential nearby rivals in Michigan and Philly, and didn't have a popular XFL (2020 version) market (NY, Houston, Tampa all overlap both leagues, but the XFL's Houston team may have to abandon its logos due to trademark disputes with the NFL so they may opt to relocate, plus TB and NY were two of the less supported teams in the XFL at the time - Gamblers, Generals, and Bandits are all stronger brands IMO then the Roughnecks, Guardians, and Vipers are).  

You also have to consider access to a stadium that can support growth over time. Oakland doesn't have that, so the Invaders wouldn't come back unless they were somewhere else like San Jose or San Diego when the new stadium is completed. Memphis could work, but are the Liberty Bowl end zones painted with the Memphis Tigers end zones permanently our are they repainted each season? If a team has a field that looks like Salt Lake's did during the AAF season it'd look to be a low rent league once again. 

It looks like they repaint the Liberty Bowl every season so that shouldn't be an issue.  Probably just have to deal with the fact that the numbers stay in place and add the pro level field markings like most other leagues do. 

 

3 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

Unless your business purpose is to pay homage to the worst overall win-loss percentage in the history of the original USFL, mediocre attendance by said league's standards, and folding after a single season of play, there's really no reason to revive the Pittsburgh Maulers identity.

With Pittsburgh, I think it's the case of the best looking car that wasn't running. The colors were different enough to grab people's attention and they aren't looked at as much of a laughing stock as San Antonio or Oklahoma/Arizona were. So basically this:

By the way, apparently it wasn't as hopeless as they thought it would be when they bought it. 

[Skycast]

I fully expect that if the USFL makes it long enough to expand then we'll see a similar thing happen out west by adding a "pod" of four teams to get to 12.

 

Arizona Wranglers, Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Oakland Invaders

 

Have three four team divisions (North, South, West) and the playoff format could have multiple options. 

 

1) Top team from each division makes the playoffs, one wildcard.

2) Top two teams from each division make the playoffs, top two seeds have first round byes.

 

Then down the road if things last they could add the Central division and split into two conferences to get to 16 teams.

[leopard88]

22 hours ago, WSU151 said:

I really like Michigan's uniforms (as many do) but I've been trying to think where I've seen that home sleeve stripe design.

 

Then it came to me (back when CU wore its best shade of gold):

 

 

I'm not sure from your post whether you're suggesting that Colorado wore that look first.  In any case, the original Panthers jerseys had the same stripe pattern.

 

[Sodboy13]

1 hour ago, Skycast said:

I fully expect that if the USFL makes it long enough to expand then we'll see a similar thing happen out west by adding a "pod" of four teams to get to 12.

 

Arizona Wranglers, Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Oakland Invaders

 

Have three four team divisions (North, South, West) and the playoff format could have multiple options. 

 

1) Top team from each division makes the playoffs, one wildcard.

2) Top two teams from each division make the playoffs, top two seeds have first round byes.

 

Then down the road if things last they could add the Central division and split into two conferences to get to 16 teams.

 

Whoa whoa whoa, one scam at a time there, pal.

[FiddySicks]

Everybody is hating on that Stars set and I’m over here thinking it kinda slaps

[Cruhawk7975]

2 hours ago, Skycast said:

I fully expect that if the USFL makes it long enough to expand then we'll see a similar thing happen out west by adding a "pod" of four teams to get to 12.

 

Arizona Wranglers, Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Oakland Invaders

 

Have three four team divisions (North, South, West) and the playoff format could have multiple options. 

 

1) Top team from each division makes the playoffs, one wildcard.

2) Top two teams from each division make the playoffs, top two seeds have first round byes.

 

Then down the road if things last they could add the Central division and split into two conferences to get to 16 teams.

I had a similar thought actually. Barring a wild curveball (i.e. USFL-XFL merger), I think this is the avenue the USFL pursues assuming the league outlasts XFL 3.0.  with those exact teams (maybe move Oakland to San Jose/San Diego/Sacramento as needed) if they can find sufficient stadiums. 

 

Assuming the league makes it to 16 teams,  and the USFL goes back to the well and only wants to re-use old team names, I think a four team central division could be: 

 

Central Division

• Chicago Blitz [expansion]
• Memphis Showboats [expansion]
• San Antonio   [expansion] -  ("Arizona Wranglers" and "San Antonio Gunslingers" trademarks are used by indoor teams rn so I'm guessing Arizona would be revived as the "Outlaws" from their name in 1985 after merging w the Oklahoma Outlaws  so I'd guess San Antonio would be rebranded as the "Wranglers"  -  plus the Gunslingers had a sketchy off-field reputation as well (paychecks frequently bounced, team cut corners everywhere possible, etc. ) so the league may want a fresh start )
• Houston Gamblers  [moved from southern division, replaced by an expansion team - Jacksonville Bulls in this scenario] 

 

Ultimately leading to a 16 team USFL of: 

 

North

• NJ Generals
• MI Panthers
• PHI Stars 
• PIT Maulers

South

• BHM Stallions
• JAC Bulls (expansion)  - (swap w/ Orlando if desired)
• NOLA Breakers
• TB Bandits

Central

• CHI Blitz (expansion)
• HOU Gamblers (from South)
• MEM Showboats (expansion)
• SA Wranglers (expansion)

West

• AZ Outlaws (expansion)
• DEN Gold  (expansion)
• LA Express (expansion)
• OAK Invaders  (expansion) - (place in San Fran./San Jose/San Diego as needed)

 

 Orlando,  Oklahoma (Tulsa), Portland, and Washington D.C.  would be the remaining USFL 1.0 Markets without teams in this scenario. (Note: I'm also assuming the USFL avoids Seattle,  St. Louis, D.C., and Dallas since they each had relatively strong fanbases for XFL 2020 and they all seem like logical candidates to return in 2023). 

[Cruhawk7975]

16 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

Everybody is hating on that Stars set and I’m over here thinking it kinda slaps

If nothing else you gotta respect how they try to do something relatively bold and different by prominently featuring a brightly colored yellow on the uniform, something not common in in sports in general, let alone pro football. 

[FiddySicks]

1 hour ago, Cruhawk7975 said:

If nothing else you gotta respect how they try to do something relatively bold and different by prominently featuring a brightly colored yellow on the uniform, something not common in in sports in general, let alone pro football. 

And I know that side panels just as a general rule are almost always goofy on a football uniform, but I actually kinda like how the diagonal stripes work going all the way up like that. A few teams tried it and while none of them are full out fantastic, this is definitely the best execution of them IMO. And the diagonal center stripe in the helmet is different but not distracting, either.

 

They sort of have an Arizona Hotshots vibe to them, and that’s one of my guilty pleasure favorite football unis ever. 

[AgentColon2]

I’m absolutely fine with having brand new cities and team identities for the expansion teams.

[Sport]

 

This might be unpopular, but I don't think there's anything worth salvaging from the original Gunslingers brand. 

[HOOVER]

I haven't had the time to review these uniforms, but have been looking forward to it.  There is good and bad, and there is really bad:

OVERALL:  C-

COLOR BALANCE:  C

HELMETS:  C

FAN FACTOR (INNOVATIVE, FUN OR NOSTALGIC):  B-

NUMBER FONTS:  D

UNIFORM COHESION:  D+

UNIFORM QUALITY:  F

NOTE:  The biggest issue with this unveil, and the overall execution of the uniforms, is how poor the quality of the actual uniform appears to be.  Perhaps it was intentional that the league wanted a looser, dazzle-shoulder/mesh body jersey and dazzle pants, or else they did not bother to fit the models well, but these look like Youth League or Jr High quality uniforms, at best.  Which is stunning, considering how widely available quality uniforms are, even from non-name brand manufacturers.   If these designs were on higher-quality, better-fitting uniforms, they'd look markedly better, despite the design flaws.

 

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS:  C

- Nice homage to original uniforms.

- Modest logo update was necessary, but this looks like every high school team who tried ripping off the Broncos logo in the late 90's.  Literally, this was almost the same logo from my helmet from '98-'01.

- Horrible helmet stripe (note:  a single standard stripe STILL works really well, you don't have to overthink it)

- I understand not having Gold pants due to Michigan having them and the Philadelphia color issue, but they're missed here.  If 4 teams can have Red jerseys, 2 teams can have Gold pants.

- Sleeve stripe is fine, but so was the original, and that's an easy miss in honoring this team's historical uniform

- Pant stripe matches original, but it was a bad design element originally with the sleeve stripe.  This would've been maybe the one team where a solid pant would've benefited greatly.  It's not awful but I would've made a change.  

- Number font is overdesigned, as usual.  For a Throwback league, these fonts should have all been simple block styles with minor updated elements, if any.

- There's nothing really special about this that makes it jump out.  It looks like a small high school team with a non-existent athletic budget.

 

 

HOUSTON GAMBLERS:  B

- Maintaining the logo was the right choice.

- Helmet design is perfectly fine, but the gloss finish makes it extremely generic.  

- What the hell is going on with the pants?  Both work, but neither match...pick one.  Did we ever determine if this was a mistake and that they're just wearing the Bandits pants with the White jerseys?  Based on the Bandits jerseys, it sure seems like a screw up, which is just one more red check against this league from the start (if you can't even get the uniform unveil photo shoot right, how are you going to nail everything else?)  Those stripes  on the Grey Bandits pants are a perfect homage to Gamblers' originals, and this team should have them, even if they're on a Dark Grey pant with a full Red stripe to separate them from Tampa's.

- The Dark Grey pants with Black stripe would also be perfectly fine, but if they were going that route, they needed to bring it into the jersey & helmet effectively, which they didn't.   

- SIDE PANELS.  Please, for the love of God, hear me:  SIDE PANELS HAVE NO PLACE IN FOOTBALL JERSEYS.  Ever.  There is no exception.  This RUINS this entire uniform, regardless of what pant they wear.  It's just completely unnecessary and probably the biggest boneheaded mistake of this entire series.  And it was done here just to shoehorn charcoal into the uniform.  Completely terrible.

- I'd be fine with not bringing back the helmet & sleeve stripes from the original uniform, simply because either of these pants would've worked great, WITHOUT THE JERSEY SIDE PANELS.  They were a design mistake on the originals, so leaving them off here is actually a correction.  There's almost no real need for the Black collar & cuffs on the Away jersey if you're not going to do it on the Home.
- Number font is again weak.  Thin and dainty.  I'll never understand it.

 

 

MICHIGAN PANTHERS:  B-

 

- Logo update is fine.  Debatable how it will appear on merch.
- Nice execution of the helmet.  Normally I wouldn't like it, but it's an update, and it's done well.

- Jersey & pants are executed well; again, this really isn't a redesign at all, except for the stripe modifications on both.  Personally, I liked the original 5-stripe design on the pant, as it was unique to them with this color palette, and it matched the sleeves.  I can't think of another team does that a 5-stripe on both, so I would've kept that.

- Excellent choice to go with a 1-color number, considering how busy the helmet decal and 5-stripe/3-stripe patterns are.  Love this.

- Number font might be alright; need to see more digits, but this is the best number font in this league.

- Solid execution because not much was changed, but I'd be very curious to see this uniform with Maroon & Light Blue flipped in a reimagining of this brand.  Maroon is just a terrible color.

 

 

NEW JERSEY GENERALS:  B-

 

- Sharp logo update

- Helmet is fine.  Even though the logo matches the original uniform, I believe all of the concepts out there show a decal with the stars-only just works better, but this isn't bad.  

- Toilet-lid collar...seriously?!

- Rest of the uniform is basically an updated replica, but with skinnier block numbers.  So close.  Wide, fat, square numbers are where it's at.

- Gridiron Labs did a much better job in giving this uniform a modern update:  https://gridironlabs.com/a11fl-new-jersey-generals-brand-identity

- Can't hate it, but a few subtle enhancements would've prevented this from being dull, such as adding the logo to the outer hips or adding the circular stars to the cap sleeve, moving the numbers to the shoulder, or adding small stars on the pant stripe or back waist.  

 

 

NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS:  C-

 

- Logo is a subtle, acceptable update; easier on the eyes than the original without going too far away

- Helmet is well-executed, but by default, it's a bad design.  Their logo would look tremendous on the side of the helmet, but I can't knock it too badly for calling back to history.

- Hate that it's semi-repeated on the jersey sleeve.   It's not the same logo/pattern, which is what makes it worse. The 3 separate colors of the original pant stripe, this pant stripe, and the original jersey stripe were unique and would've looked clean here and improved the effect of the helmet design.

- Number font is what kills this.   Their staple was the double-outlined, or tri-color block font, and man is it missed here.  Instead, we get another thin, curvy, dainty, Madden-expansion team generic Jr. High font.  Damn shame.

- In some of the older Breakers photos, the Royal Blue almost looks Navy Blue.  I'm not sure if that was the case and it changed (some photos look Royal), but a Dark Royal or Navy would've really helped the contrast on this set.

 

 

PHILADELPHIA STARS:  D-

 

- Logo is the only thing that saves this set from an F.

- For the love of Christ, don't ever use these stripe patterns in football again.

- I get it, they basically had the same uniforms as the Stallions.  But, you know...Philadelphia Federals, using Kelly Green, Silver & Black, wouldn't have worked?  There's not a lick of Green in this league.  This is one city/mascot change that made complete sense.  It sounds good, has historical significance, and utilizes colors that Philadelphia football fans have been clamoring to get back for 20+ years.

- Instead, we get a 4th Red jersey, change Metallic Gold to Yellow-Gold, and add silly stupid stripe patterns that have nothing to do with stars, jersey SIDE PANELS, TOILET BOWL collars, and generic, thin, rounded, feminine number font.  

- Oh, and a random star patch on the upper left chest.

- Debacle

 

 

PITTSBURGH MAULERS:  D

 

- Logo update, again, is the one of the few things that saves this from an F

- Helmet logo looks good, but is overpowered by the stripe, which also doesn't match the original (which is fine).  Instead of a 2" stripe, go down to a 1" or even smaller, if you're not going to use the original.  

- Freaking SHOULDER YOKES.  Like side stripes, these stopped having any business being on a football uniform in the early 2000's.  I understand the desire to make at least some teams look different, but this is the laziest, most outdated way to do it.  I mean, what's next, Denver Bronco shard stripes?  

- Oh, look...toilet bowl collar!  Just when I think a shoulder yoke design couldn't look any worse.

- Pant stripe is completely fine, but not historically accurate.  Once the decision was made to make the jersey have yokes, you threw out the helmet, sleeve, and pant stripe, all of which worked perfectly previously.  

- Grey has been removed.  What really helped make this uniform work well originally was the tertiary use of Grey.  Without, there is no mid-contrast.  Oh, but you kept it for the facemask (eye roll).

- Number font, again, is generic, dated, thin and feminine.

- This looks like it was straight up lifted from Madden's expansion team uniforms.  

- The Purple is light.  Probably dictated by the uniform fabrics, but from what I've found, they always used a Dark Purple.  

- I don't know how many of you have visited Pittsburgh, but I lived there for 11 years...and they are not a Purple & Orange kind of town.  I realize those are the historical colors of this team, but perhaps this represented one opportunity to shuffle.  Pittsburgh is one of the handful of cities, I believe, where all of the sports teams share the same colors:  Black, Yellow-Gold and White.  If you're a Yinzer...those are your colors.  When they say they "bleed Black & Gold"...they mean it.  This would've been the perfect opportunity and brand to modify, using Black, Yellow-Gold, and Grey.  Adding in a Grey...you could so simply call it "Steel Grey", duh...and you've got a complete hit.  This Purple & Orange team will not find traction in this era.  Show me a Yinzer who will wear Purple.  I'll drink some Iron City Lights while I wait.

 

TAMPA BAY BANDITS:  B+

 

- Excellent logo update

- Excellent helmet design.  Beautiful stripe pattern change from the Ohio State look.  Perfect thickness of Red center stripe.  Best helmet in this league and it's not close.  Only gripe is that this is the 3rd team in this league with a Red facemask; I like it over the historically-worn Grey guard, but I'd be interested in seeing this with a Black mask also.

- Jersey is fine, but the contrasting collar & cuffs on the White jersey are unnecessary and they don't mirror the home jerseys.   Great looking secondary logo with historically accurate placement on caps.

- Number font is a terrible miss.  This works for the '94-95 49ers and them only.  Ask the Browns.

- Not using Black/Red numbers (instead of Red/Black) on the Away jersey is a definite miss.  I get wanting to match to the socks, but it would've still been balanced, plus historically accurate.

- SIDE PANELS.  Christ.  Completely unnecessary.  Bush league.

- Pant stripe is great; traditional, with just the subtle minor modernization at the bottom.  These are the kinds of modern tweaks that can be made to traditional elements that are acceptable depending on the brand, and here, it works.

SUMMARY:   Close, but no cigar.  I feel like, with the right budget for quality uniforms and some minor tweaks in a redesign, these could be very good, but as of right now, they're not pro-level, not college-level, hell, they're not even high-school level uniforms. 

Like the AAF & XFL 2.0, I believe team name, color, mascot and uniform choices are a great indicator of whether a league will be successful, and in this case, I expect the USFL to fail, like their predecessors who made the same mistakes.  Even with a great TV deal, the perception of this league by fans, based off of these, is that it is semi-pro or lower, and they'll treat it as such.

 

It's simply another case of the wrong people making these big decisions that ultimately effect whether a business thrives or dies.

[ManillaToad]

13 minutes ago, Sport said:

 

This might be unpopular, but I don't think there's anything worth salvaging from the original Gunslingers brand. 

 

Doesn't seem too bad other than the helmet. Looks kinda like the Seahawks when they were in the AFC