Nike Pro Combat NFL in 2012

[Gothamite]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

[judyfin]

Ployer momo11

spam

[shaydre1019]

I love and hate the pats current look. I love the navy on silver home and the white on navy away. I think they should keep that combination no matter what, however I think the design of their look can be tweaked for the better.

And for everyone who thinks Nike is like the mad scientist of sports apparel... Which I guess they can be to an extent, BUT, I feel that more often than not what they bring to the table is very professional looking. So I think everyone should calm their boners, nike doesn't have enough leverage or lack of design experience ( ala under ) to ruin the NFL .

[BlueSky]

How is it that everyone thinks Nike is going to come in and tell the teams what they're going to wear? As many others have noted, the franchises will retain control over what they look like. Some teams make get makeovers and obviously Nike will present them with options, but it's not like Nike will dictate to the teams.

It's the same deal in college football; the schools have control over what the final design looks like, yet people still blame Nike on a regular basis for (sometimes) bad uniform designs.

Well, in all fairness, Nike designs the things to begin with, and then convinces the school that it's a good idea to adopt this new badass look. Sure, it's the school's responsibility to approve or deny anything it sees, but if Nike was giving them three conservatively great options each time, we wouldn't be having these issues.

Fair point, and how do they convince the schools? Think about it...most schools that adopt their designs don't merit national attention based on their play, but dress in some wacky uniform and suddenly you're on SportsCenter. The "look at me" syndrome in a football uni.

I'll believe in the unstoppable power of Nike when they have the juice to turn a traditional school like Penn State, OU, or Alabama into some Oregon-esque monstrosity.

[Bouj]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

That's true, and it has worked on almost everyone. There are a couple of schools that have said No F'ing Way. I know for a fact that Nike wanted to get Texas to do some unusual stuff with their uniforms, and they would have none of it. Texas was only willing to wear a throwback design (the 60's era numbers-on-helmets set from a few years ago). Alabama has been pretty steadfast in their refusal to change anything either.

Teams with strong identities have stood up to Nike. I have no doubt the Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears would be willing to tell Nike to produce near-identical gear to what they have now instead of some overhaul. Maybe the Steelers got bullied into the number change, but I don't see that happening again. In the mid-90's, the NFL wasn't as stringent with their identity as they are now.

[elsephen]

I really do feel sorry for the people that actually think Nike is going to go crazy with NFL uniforms.

For living in reality?

Maybe they won't go "CRAZY"- but if you think Nike is just taking this gig to slap their logo on some shoulders, you have no idea how Nike works.

They're GIDDY about this- and you'd better believe they have plans to give the NFL a makeover. And will.

This is like someone thinking Lebron James is coming to play on their pickup team but wont care if he doesn't get the ball.

[CrazyAnna]

I really do feel sorry for the people that actually think Nike is going to go crazy with NFL uniforms.

For living in reality?

Maybe they won't go "CRAZY"- but if you think Nike is just taking this gig to slap their logo on some shoulders, you have no idea how Nike works.

They're GIDDY about this- and you'd better believe they have plans to give the NFL a makeover. And will.

This is like someone thinking Lebron James is coming to play on their pickup team but wont care if he doesn't get the ball.

Of course Nike will use the latest technology with the 2012 NFL uniforms, but obviously (as you kindly told me about Nike) you have no idea how the NFL works. There are strict uniform rules and the NFL is too strong and powerful to become Nike's bitch. Are Nike and New Era "giddy" about getting the new NFL contract, duh, of course. But again, there are extremely strict NFL uniform rules. If a team recently changed uniforms (i.e. Bills), then they cannot be touched (except for an alternate). And even when it comes to alternates, Nike cannot add a new helmet to a certain team unless that helmet was already worn in the past. Again, look up the NFL uniform rules and you'll understand that Nike will be limited.

[TheOldRoman]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

And of course, they tell the schools lies about the new material making players 3% faster and 7.2% less fatigued and so on. Then they say, "Well, no, we can't do that traditional design in the new material. Then how would the fans know we are using the new material?" They tell schools that an unscientific study done by some guy on the internet shows that if you get cool new uniforms, you will do 20% better in recruiting or some nonsense. They also undoubtedly pitch success stories which have flimsy at best ties to new Nike uniforms, such as Oregon, Boise State and Gonzaga in basketball. In most cases, I think Nike going into these meetings with college administration who either knows or cares little about uniforms is like slimeball car salesman going up against a rube. "Oh, I forgot to mention, that price is without the transmission. That will add an extra $5,000. There's also an extra $500 tax on all cars with four or more windows."

[Billy B]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

And of course, they tell the schools lies about the new material making players 3% faster and 7.2% less fatigued and so on. Then they say, "Well, no, we can't do that traditional design in the new material. Then how would the fans know we are using the new material?" They tell schools that an unscientific study done by some guy on the internet shows that if you get cool new uniforms, you will do 20% better in recruiting or some nonsense. They also undoubtedly pitch success stories which have flimsy at best ties to new Nike uniforms, such as Oregon, Boise State and Gonzaga in basketball. In most cases, I think Nike going into these meetings with college administration who either knows or cares little about uniforms is like slimeball car salesman going up against a rube. "Oh, I forgot to mention, that price is without the transmission. That will add an extra $5,000. There's also an extra $500 tax on all cars with four or more windows."

I really think people are still overestimating the power Nike has over the design of a team's uniforms. Sure, they will probably have everybody in their latest uniform cuts, but that's not exactly a bad thing. Take Virginia as an example. They got new uniforms from Nike a year or two ago and didn't end up with some crazy design where all the different material panels are different colors.

[RHSNEYES]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

And of course, they tell the schools lies about the new material making players 3% faster and 7.2% less fatigued and so on. Then they say, "Well, no, we can't do that traditional design in the new material. Then how would the fans know we are using the new material?" They tell schools that an unscientific study done by some guy on the internet shows that if you get cool new uniforms, you will do 20% better in recruiting or some nonsense. They also undoubtedly pitch success stories which have flimsy at best ties to new Nike uniforms, such as Oregon, Boise State and Gonzaga in basketball. In most cases, I think Nike going into these meetings with college administration who either knows or cares little about uniforms is like slimeball car salesman going up against a rube. "Oh, I forgot to mention, that price is without the transmission. That will add an extra $5,000. There's also an extra $500 tax on all cars with four or more windows."

I really think people are still overestimating the power Nike has over the design of a team's uniforms. Sure, they will probably have everybody in their latest uniform cuts, but that's not exactly a bad thing. Take Virginia as an example. They got new uniforms from Nike a year or two ago and didn't end up with some crazy design where all the different material panels are different colors.

I agree. Personally, I'm excited about the Nike takeover because I'm anticipating very little uniform changes, possibly save for a few teams with crappy / outdated looks anyway, because I think their cuts / material is better than Reebok's.

[TheOldRoman]

Their cuts may or may not be better than Reeboks, but they are still worse than traditional football templates which were used by pretty much everybody until Nike decided to start using the Broncos' batwing template for teams like the Falcons circa 2000. There is no reason for Nike to come out with templates with truncated and wrap-around pant stripes and random jersey seems including a belly inset other than to say "This is our new template! Performance!" If Nike's new materials are so revolutionary (and they're not) they use them in traditional templates. No need to add random seams or not have the shoulder yoke wrap around the back.

[elliott]

Their cuts may or may not be better than Reeboks, but they are still worse than traditional football templates which were used by pretty much everybody until Nike decided to start using the Broncos' batwing template for teams like the Falcons circa 2000. There is no reason for Nike to come out with templates with truncated and wrap-around pant stripes and random jersey seems including a belly inset other than to say "This is our new template! Performance!" If Nike's new materials are so revolutionary (and they're not) they use them in traditional templates. No need to add random seams or not have the shoulder yoke wrap around the back.

What? the falcons wore their traditional jerseys in 2000, they didn't change to the new modern/piping designs til 2003, and that was reebok.

[capitalcanuck]

I wanna see could designs in the nfl not something radical please nike dont screw this up

this is obviously a failed spambot

dude I missed spelled good and my iPhone put could instead I'm not a spambot

[TheOldRoman]

Their cuts may or may not be better than Reeboks, but they are still worse than traditional football templates which were used by pretty much everybody until Nike decided to start using the Broncos' batwing template for teams like the Falcons circa 2000. There is no reason for Nike to come out with templates with truncated and wrap-around pant stripes and random jersey seems including a belly inset other than to say "This is our new template! Performance!" If Nike's new materials are so revolutionary (and they're not) they use them in traditional templates. No need to add random seams or not have the shoulder yoke wrap around the back.

What? the falcons wore their traditional jerseys in 2000, they didn't change to the new modern/piping designs til 2003, and that was reebok.

I don't know for sure if it happened under Nike or when Reebok took over in 2001, but lots of teams wore the Broncos' template except in solid colors. They would have the side mesh come to a point at the collar, only it would be the same color as the jersey.

[oldschoolvikings]

Don't forget that, in many of these instances, Nike has more marketplace power than the schools.

Not that it excuses the school's going along, but that level of financial pressure can be very hard to resist.

And of course, they tell the schools lies about the new material making players 3% faster and 7.2% less fatigued and so on. Then they say, "Well, no, we can't do that traditional design in the new material. Then how would the fans know we are using the new material?" They tell schools that an unscientific study done by some guy on the internet shows that if you get cool new uniforms, you will do 20% better in recruiting or some nonsense. They also undoubtedly pitch success stories which have flimsy at best ties to new Nike uniforms, such as Oregon, Boise State and Gonzaga in basketball. In most cases, I think Nike going into these meetings with college administration who either knows or cares little about uniforms is like slimeball car salesman going up against a rube. "Oh, I forgot to mention, that price is without the transmission. That will add an extra $5,000. There's also an extra $500 tax on all cars with four or more windows."

Does that guy post on this board and love Oregon?

[whitedawg22]

I'm just excited that this means the end of the Reebok super-stretchy uniforms that look like crap and can't support shoulder stripes.

Seriously, Reebok should be embarrassed about that. (Actually, about both teams in that photo).

At least when Nike redesigns a traditional uniform they look classy - see Ohio State, Virginia, USC, etc. Given that the NFL has billions of dollars and is run by old rich conservative men - as opposed to the NCAA, where decisions are made by younger athletic directors, often with coach or player input, looking to stretch a meager budget - I don't think they're going to have any problem reining Nike in.

Plus, even Nike has gotten more conservative with its designs recently for schools that aren't trying to be Oregon, moving away from piping and random blotches of color. Personally, I haven't liked much that Reebok has done, and I'm excited for the new Nike-designed NFL. If they want to make their mark by electrifying the Panthers or Seahawks, as has been speculated, small loss - they won't be able to change any team whose tradition actually matters.

[RHSNEYES]

Also, this is gonna catch a lot of , but Oregon's design itself is actually very simple, clean and classy in my opinion. The combos are their trademark, but the uniform design itself is pretty minimal.

[TornadoGTS]

I'm just excited that this means the end of the Reebok super-stretchy uniforms that look like crap and can't support shoulder stripes.

Me too, plus you look at teams like Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech which shows that Nike can handle it.

[bucknut40]

I would love to see Nike go pro combat for the thanksgiving games although that'd mean te cowboys and lions get the same crap every year

[sonny]

When do we think well get a good idea on teams getting an overhaul? I'm surprised nothing substantial has leaked out through twitter or blogs.