NIKE NFL Uniforms

[aawagner011]

Did anyone else find it comical when they listed the team's records in each color? "Carolina owns an all-time regular season record of 74-87 when wearing white jerseys, 42-50 when dressing in black jerseys and 9-10 when sporting the blue tops." Every jersey features a losing record. Why bother adding that blip of information?

[BlueSky]

Forgot one thing from the HOF game, and that's the ridiculous break at the top of the Cardinals' pants stripe:

I know it's been mentioned before but it looks awful on the field. As for the pants in general...my wife said, "They look like they're wearing diapers." And ya know what? It's tough to argue.

[Gothamite]

Forgot one thing from the HOF game, and that's the ridiculous break in the Cardinals' pants stripe:

I know it's been mentioned before but it looks awful on the field.

That, and the see-through nature of the Nike fabric. I'm glad my team never wears white pants.

[TheOldRoman]

Forgot one thing from the HOF game, and that's the ridiculous break in the Cardinals' pants stripe:

I know it's been mentioned before but it looks awful on the field.

Yes, it does look ridiculous. As do the collars. As do the pants with material so translucent that we can see the players' skin through it. As does the silly jersey template with dark sweat zones. As does... well, Nike is pretty much batting .000 on the NFL so far.

[Lights Out]

I think part of the problem is teams forcing Nike to fit Reebok's designs into their proprietary template. The Cardinals' eyesore is designed around a Reebok template, not Speed Machine, so of course it's not going to look right (not that it ever looked good before). More teams should have done what the Seahawks did and seized the opportunity to change their uniforms.

[oldschoolvikings]

I think part of the problem is teams forcing Nike to fit Reebok's designs into their proprietary template. The Cardinals' eyesore is designed around a Reebok template, not Speed Machine, so of course it's not going to look right (not that it ever looked good before). More teams should have done what the Seahawks did and seized the opportunity to change their uniforms.

Or nike, being what is basically an employee of the NFL, could have offered more options in terms of templates, fabrics, and cuts. They do this for their college partners, why didn't it happen with the NFL?

And the opportunity that was "seized" by the Seahawks should've been instantly thrown away. What a nightmare.

[henburg]

I think part of the problem is teams forcing Nike to fit Reebok's designs into their proprietary template. The Cardinals' eyesore is designed around a Reebok template, not Speed Machine, so of course it's not going to look right (not that it ever looked good before). More teams should have done what the Seahawks did and seized the opportunity to change their uniforms.

Or nike, being what is basically an employee of the NFL, could have offered more options in terms of templates, fabrics, and cuts. They do this for their college partners, why didn't it happen with the NFL?

And the opportunity that was "seized" by the Seahawks should've been instantly thrown away. What a nightmare.

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

[andrewharrington]

The Carolina Panthers jersey colors are out.

http://www.panthers....66-b95541242f70

Their black jerseys are some of the best in football. They need to wear them for all home games other than the one alternate game per year. If the Raiders can deal with the heat of 1,000 suns upon them wearing black jerseys in Oakland, the Panthers can live with it in the early season, too.

75 degree average temp. in September? Anyone who complains about the heat in northern California, especially that close to the coast, should be sent to live in Yakutsk for a year.

[Lights Out]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

[Gothamite]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

Also, the Patriots chose a Speed Machine template without the nikelace, preferring to retain their old collar. The Texans wear the nikelace, but in a solid color without the contrasting frontpiece.

So teams did in fact have some choice over the finished results, and therefore the teams that now look like clowns must bear a significant percentage of the responsibility for looking like clowns.

[oldschoolvikings]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

Also, the Patriots chose a Speed Machine template without the nikelace, preferring to retain their old collar. The Texans wear the nikelace, but in a solid color without the contrasting frontpiece.

So teams did in fact have some choice over the finished results, and therefore the teams that now look like clowns must bear a significant percentage of the responsibility for looking like clowns.

Sure, I get that. But it still seems that the choices were a little limited. We have a bunch of teams going with the speed machine template as is, a handful of teams basically saying "screw off, we aren't changing, just slap your logo on the old stuff," and apparently only one team that went with the new template, but altered it (unless it wasn't just New England). It seems especially strange/telling that only one team fiddled with the proposed template (and that team is the notoriously stubborn Patriots).

I am in no way trying to say the teams are blameless, and that Nike forced anything down their throats. BUT... uniform design is not the number one priority of an NFL team (nor should it be), and I would imagine most teams found it easier to trust Nike (a company whose number one priority, when it comes to the NFL, IS uniform design) to take their current look, and make it work. Nike is supposedly the best in the business. It isn't hard to picture most teams just choosing to bow to the wisdom of the experts, in this case.

What I would've liked, is to see Nike work a little harder to make the uniforms of the teams that didn't want a change still look decent. That's what they seem to do with college teams. Penn State has been Nike for years, and they were able to keep a traditional template in terms of the collar and sleeve cuffs, but still take advantage of the tighter fit and new fabrics. There's no reason the NFL teams couldn't have been offered a few different templates, and Nike's job would've been to see which best suited the design. But that isn't what they did, and I'm cynical enough to think that the single template that most teams ended up with is there to:

A. Push Nike's proprietary design features to further line Nike's pocket, and

B. Coerce teams into allowing Nike to do a full re-design (Like the Seahawks' mess) because their old designs no longer work.

And before a few dozen posters jump in to say for the 100th time, YES, I know Nike is a corporation built to make a profit, and YES, the NFL teams had the final say. YES... OK! But am I really so far off base for suggesting that Nike should've done a little more for the teams that (probably at least somewhat for marketing reasons) wanted to be able say they're on board with Nike, but still wanted to look like themselves?

[TheOldRoman]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

No, the problem was Nike adding garbage elements just to be different. There is no performance benefit to having the panel covering the stripes, but Nike added it anyway to look different. It's the same thing with the silly flywire collars, random seams on jerseys and pants and the different colored sweat zones on the jerseys. I respect the Packers for calling Nike on their bull , but other traditional teams weren't as smart. The Bears clearly wanted to keep their traditional look, but even with the best of Nike's new super advanced materials, their pants stripes are cut off due to the hip padding. Nike did that for no reason other than to market themselves.

[Bouj]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

Also, the Patriots chose a Speed Machine template without the nikelace, preferring to retain their old collar. The Texans wear the nikelace, but in a solid color without the contrasting frontpiece.

So teams did in fact have some choice over the finished results, and therefore the teams that now look like clowns must bear a significant percentage of the responsibility for looking like clowns.

Sure, I get that. But it still seems that the choices were a little limited. We have a bunch of teams going with the speed machine template as is, a handful of teams basically saying "screw off, we aren't changing, just slap your logo on the old stuff," and apparently only one team that went with the new template, but altered it (unless it wasn't just New England). It seems especially strange/telling that only one team fiddled with the proposed template (and that team is the notoriously stubborn Patriots).

I am in no way trying to say the teams are blameless, and that Nike forced anything down their throats. BUT... uniform design is not the number one priority of an NFL team (nor should it be), and I would imagine most teams found it easier to trust Nike (a company whose number one priority, when it comes to the NFL, IS uniform design) to take their current look, and make it work. Nike is supposedly the best in the business. It isn't hard to picture most teams just choosing to bow to the wisdom of the experts, in this case.

What I would've liked, is to see Nike work a little harder to make the uniforms of the teams that didn't want a change still look decent. That's what they seem to do with college teams. Penn State has been Nike for years, and they were able to keep a traditional template in terms of the collar and sleeve cuffs, but still take advantage of the tighter fit and new fabrics. There's no reason the NFL teams couldn't have been offered a few different templates, and Nike's job would've been to see which best suited the design. But that isn't what they did, and I'm cynical enough to think that the single template that most teams ended up with is there to:

A. Push Nike's proprietary design features to further line Nike's pocket, and

B. Coerce teams into allowing Nike to do a full re-design (Like the Seahawks' mess) because their old designs no longer work.

And before a few dozen posters jump in to say for the 100th time, YES, I know Nike is a corporation built to make a profit, and YES, the NFL teams had the final say. YES... OK! But am I really so far off base for suggesting that Nike should've done a little more for the teams that (probably at least somewhat for marketing reasons) wanted to be able say they're on board with Nike, but still wanted to look like themselves?

You're operating under the false assumption that all the teams care that much. The teams that stuck with the old template care. The ones that adjusted the new template care. The other teams couldn't be bothered.

As fans, we REALLY care about this stuff. But for most teams, as long as the logos and the colors are correct, they are OK with these various templates. The Colts and NYGiants went to the super-stretchy tops in the recent past. The jerseys were non-current to what the other teams wore, but they still generally looked like themselves.

I'm not trying to excuse Nike. I think the Nikelace (good term!) looks stupid. But the teams agreed to wear it when they could have said no. Ultimately, this is on each franchise. If your team just went with the new standard Nike template, there is a 90% chance that they either like the jersey or don't care enough to be bothered to change it. Teams aren't going to be changing anything wholesale for 2013 because they almost certainly don't see any problems.

[Gothamite]

Well, not every team is wearing the speed machine template. For example Green Bay, Oakland, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all wearing wearing a variation of last years template with a swoosh on it, so really Nike did offer other templates and materials, it's just that most teams opted for the speed machine.

This. Personally, I blame the teams here for asking for the Speed Machine but not allowing any adjustments to make it work. If the Cardinals' generic piping and panels are really THAT untouchable, they should have asked for a non-ProCombat template.

No, the problem was Nike adding garbage elements just to be different. There is no performance benefit to having the panel covering the stripes, but Nike added it anyway to look different. It's the same thing with the silly flywire collars, random seams on jerseys and pants and the different colored sweat zones on the jerseys. I respect the Packers for calling Nike on their bull , but other traditional teams weren't as smart. The Bears clearly wanted to keep their traditional look, but even with the best of Nike's new super advanced materials, their pants stripes are cut off due to the hip padding. Nike did that for no reason other than to market themselves.

And the Bears are responsible for telling Nike to knock it off. Just like the Packers, Raiders, Eagles and other teams did. Just like the Patriots did when it came to the Nikelace collar.

We saw this when the NHL went to standardized RBK EDGE uniforms. Teams like Colorado lost their distinctive mountain-range hem patterns, but that's not because Reebok wouldn't offer it on the new template. They could have, but the Avalanche didn't ever ask them to.

I don't particularly mind manufacturers wanting to push the envelope. I mind teams just rolling over and letting them do it.

[oldschoolvikings]

I am in no way trying to say the teams are blameless, and that Nike forced anything down their throats. BUT... uniform design is not the number one priority of an NFL team (nor should it be), and I would imagine most teams found it easier to trust Nike (a company whose number one priority, when it comes to the NFL, IS uniform design) to take their current look, and make it work. Nike is supposedly the best in the business. It isn't hard to picture most teams just choosing to bow to the wisdom of the experts, in this case.

What I would've liked, is to see Nike work a little harder to make the uniforms of the teams that didn't want a change still look decent. That's what they seem to do with college teams. Penn State has been Nike for years, and they were able to keep a traditional template in terms of the collar and sleeve cuffs, but still take advantage of the tighter fit and new fabrics. There's no reason the NFL teams couldn't have been offered a few different templates, and Nike's job would've been to see which best suited the design. But that isn't what they did, and I'm cynical enough to think that the single template that most teams ended up with is there to:

A. Push Nike's proprietary design features to further line Nike's pocket, and

B. Coerce teams into allowing Nike to do a full re-design (Like the Seahawks' mess) because their old designs no longer work.

And before a few dozen posters jump in to say for the 100th time, YES, I know Nike is a corporation built to make a profit, and YES, the NFL teams had the final say. YES... OK! But am I really so far off base for suggesting that Nike should've done a little more for the teams that (probably at least somewhat for marketing reasons) wanted to be able say they're on board with Nike, but still wanted to look like themselves?

You're operating under the false assumption that all the teams care that much.

Actually, I'm not. I said so right in my first paragraph.

I'm operating under the assumption that Nike is the one that's supposed to care, and they should've done more to help the teams that obviously felt they were in good hands and left it up to the "experts".

[TheOldRoman]

And the Bears are responsible for telling Nike to knock it off. Just like the Packers, Raiders, Eagles and other teams did. Just like the Patriots did when it came to the Nikelace collar.

I agree, but see below.

I'm operating under the assumption that Nike is the one that's supposed to care, and they should've done more to help the teams that obviously felt they were in good hands and left it up to the "experts".

I agree with this. Most of the teams who wanted to keep their look, such as the Bears, trusted Nike to do the right thing and bought their snake oil pitch about the jerseys being 3.76% lighter and 9.5% more sweat-wick-ier, making the players 2.8% stronger and run .09% faster. They said, "Oh heavens! We couldn't possibly wear the old fabric and risk missing out on a Super Bowl because the other team is .09% faster than our players!" so they went along with Nike. They didn't know that Nike was full of crap and out to market itself much much more than the team or league. I guess if some of the Bears' employees wasted their workdays on CCLSC like us, they would have known that.

[Billy B]

I don't see what there is to complain about the Bears Nike look. Their jerseys look much better with the numbers on the shoulders. And I'm sure that the Bears worked with Nike in deciding to go with the shoulder numbers. And people shouldn't write off the technology in the new templates as bring total BS. They might not do that much, but every little but of increase in comfort is nice fire a player.

[guest23]

And the Bears are responsible for telling Nike to knock it off. Just like the Packers, Raiders, Eagles and other teams did. Just like the Patriots did when it came to the Nikelace collar.

I agree, but see below.

I'm operating under the assumption that Nike is the one that's supposed to care, and they should've done more to help the teams that obviously felt they were in good hands and left it up to the "experts".

I agree with this. Most of the teams who wanted to keep their look, such as the Bears, trusted Nike to do the right thing and bought their snake oil pitch about the jerseys being 3.76% lighter and 9.5% more sweat-wick-ier, making the players 2.8% stronger and run .09% faster. They said, "Oh heavens! We couldn't possibly wear the old fabric and risk missing out on a Super Bowl because the other team is .09% faster than our players!" so they went along with Nike. They didn't know that Nike was full of crap and out to market itself much much more than the team or league. I guess if some of the Bears' employees wasted their workdays on CCLSC like us, they would have known that.

I think some of you are getting real close to the answer...I wouldn't be surprised if some teams either didn't care or just have bad uniform fashion sense...you may have had some teams where 3 front office people had final say, some may have just deferred the whole thing to the equipment manager...conversely the owner may have had final sign off with some teams.

I think it comes down to how each team prioritized the supplier changeover.

[daschuck77]

[Lights Out]

I'm operating under the assumption that Nike is the one that's supposed to care, and they should've done more to help the teams that obviously felt they were in good hands and left it up to the "experts".

Assuming that it's automatically the designer's fault for "not caring enough" is pretty dumb. Presumably, Nike showed a bunch of different options to every team during the design process, so it's ultimately the team's fault for choosing whichever option looked the worst. Additionally, for all we know, Nike could have come up with the world's greatest designs, and the teams could have been totally finicky and turned them all down.