NFL teams that need new unis.

[Jamikel]

Vikings, Dolphins, Jaguars

[dennisbergan]

Cowboys (will happen in 2014).

Browns (will also happen in 2014)

Bengals

Titans

Chargers road pants

Everybody else looks pretty good right now. The 3 changes for 2013 are all CLEAR upgrades, over the previous sets. The Dolphins look much better and cleaner then before. So do the Vikes. And despite the handringing from some of the goofs here, the Jags look much better and their jersey's and merchandise will be selling very well. Some of you just don't like progressive change and wish everyone looked the same. Thank God there are some teams in the NFL that don't adhere to those 1960's principles. Some teams like the Packers or Raiders or Bears or Colts should have traditional looks. Others don't need to do this. Because its a big world out there.

[chuckymack]

I think almost every team in the league has one or two little things that bug at least some of their fans -- whether it's the black in the Chiefs' logo (a necessary evil, in my opinion) or the Steelers' italic numerals (not so much).

That being said, I'll just stick to the teams that I think need complete uniform overhauls (minus the three that just got overhauled):

Arizona

Atlanta

Baltimore

Cincinnati

Denver

Dallas

Philadelphia

Seattle

St. Louis

Tennessee

[eRay]

I'm starting to think I'm the only one that still really likes the Titans uniforms somehow. I wish they'd work with mostly their White and Lt. Blue jerseys and pants, eliminating the Navy for the most part, but that's a minor gripe.

I'd second the votes for Cardinals and Falcons.

I'd also throw the Rams in only because they've eliminated the gold pants and nothing seems to look right together anymore. Bengals need to fix their side-panels, but if they JUST want to do that, Nike will convince them to add anthracite somehow.

[chuckymack]

I agree that just losing the side panels would make a world of difference in the Bengals' unis.

[TheOldRoman]

Dallas has been wearing the mismatching blues and silvers for ages now it seems, that's their look.

It's not even just that, their uniforms just look beyond cheap and outdated. Not even "classic," just bad and unprofessional.

Please explain to me what looks cheap, dated and unprofessional about the Cowboys uniforms outside of the mismatched colors.

Oh, and is this Orangefaniniowa fellow is your brother or a duplicate account of yours?

[njmeadowlanders]

The Philadelphia Eagles, hands down.

They need to make a return to the Kelly Green and Silver.

(My only fear is that the NFL will give the keys to Nike, and Nike will F up the team's look)

For the kajillionth time: Teams give the go-ahead. Nike can't unilaterally just change it because they want to.

[BadSeed84]

Chrome eagle wings on the helmet would be cool, no?

The Philadelphia Eagles, hands down.

They need to make a return to the Kelly Green and Silver.

(My only fear is that the NFL will give the keys to Nike, and Nike will F up the team's look)

For the kajillionth time: Teams give the go-ahead. Nike can't unilaterally just change it because they want to.

Chrome eagle wings on the satin/matteish green helmet would be cool, no?

[ohryan]

After seeing what Nike has done with their NFL rebranding efforts, I'm a little gun shy at wishing for any more new looks. Like a previous poster said, little things like the black in the Chiefs helmet kind of bug me, but I'm worried that Nike would just completely destroy the rest of what is a pretty timeless look.

I'm not a Nike hater, but I'm already getting tired of their silly little stories that they site as "design inspiration," (i.e. - the fierce norsemen gallantly sailed on intimidating curved-hull boats, so we're using curves serifs and sleeve stripes inspired by their fearsome spirit. Or, the vicious jaguar stalks his prey by leaping out of the shadows, so we're using different fabrics on the shoulders and a half-and-half helmet that is inspired by the mighty animal's spirit).

It seems like Nike's intent is on showing off how "creative" they are by trying to justify every little thing they do. I don't want every team to have their own number font simply so they'll be "unique" because of it, nor do I need every team's identity to turn into some sort of Disneyesque caricature of itself just to appease Nike.

[drakexedge]

Ravens - My Ravens could use some refreshing. Cut the drop shadows, get an iridescent black helmet w/ a purple hue and take off the stripes. And I guess they could have the Maryland flag in subliminal patterns. Then get a new Raven logo.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I can't stand the number dropshadows on any uniform; they look atrocious, and I felt refreshed when the new Dolphins jerseys were revealed without them. I think the Ravens unis could use some work, but overall they aren't terrible. The color combination is one of the best in the league IMO, and I'm a die hard Steelers fan. Haha.

As for the logo, I don't necessarily hate that either, but they could definitely modernize it as the recently did with the Jaguars logo; a logo that was created around the same time as that of the Ravens.

Maybe I'll do a new Ravens mockup here in the future. ;] I will say they need to go back to purple jersey/black pants at home. That purple on white is what the Vikings do after all.

[LetsGoPeay]

For the people that keep saying the Cowboys need to change or upgrade their look, you need to understand that every little nuance and idiosyncracy about their uniform has a specific, historical reason behind it. I dislike the Cowboys intensely. But they are one of the NFL's iconic teams and those uniforms are a big part of it. There's an article by Paul Lukas, which I don't have the time to look up and link to, that explains what's going on with the Cowboys' varying colors and details. Having read that, I think it would be almost criminal to alter any of it in the name of modernization and getting with the latest fads. And with Jerry Jones being as much of a diehard, possibly the most diehard Cowboys fan in history, I seriously doubt we will ever see anything more than an occasional one-off special uni for the Thanksgiving game or a throwback uni for a game here or there.

[kutztown]

Chrome eagle wings on the helmet would be cool, no?

The Philadelphia Eagles, hands down.

They need to make a return to the Kelly Green and Silver.

(My only fear is that the NFL will give the keys to Nike, and Nike will F up the team's look)

For the kajillionth time: Teams give the go-ahead. Nike can't unilaterally just change it because they want to.

Chrome eagle wings on the satin/matteish green helmet would be cool, no?

I understand that teams have the final say. I could just see Nike coming up with some BS storyline for the Eagles uni (similar to the whole Jaguar coming out of the shadows angle) and the organization buying and running with it, thats all.

No chrome wings/matte for the birds please.

[IceCap]

Why cant we just talk uniforms in this thread?

Arizona, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. They're the last remnants of the Reebok over-designed 2000s. Nike over-designed 2010s isn't the answer, but all three teams needed an overhaul years ago. Though at least Arizona and Cincinnati nailed the helmets.

The Broncos' set is really starting to show its age. Something along the lines of an updated Orange Crush look couldn't hurt.

The Cowboys just need to standardize the striping and colours. They'll have a top five look if they would just fix those inconsistencies.

The Seahawks' new look needs to be redesigned from the bottom up.

And yeah, the Jaguars. I don't know if they need new uniforms, but they definitely need new helmets.

[oldschoolvikings]

I'm not a Nike hater, but...

It seems like Nike's intent is on showing off how "creative" they are by trying to justify every little thing they do. I don't want every team to have their own number font simply so they'll be "unique" because of it.

The proprietary fonts that so many team use now have been a big part of most NFL redesigns well before Nike became involved. I'm sure it has less to do with trying to be "unique" than it does with money. My guess is the NFL strongly encourages the teams to switch from a generic, easily replicable block number, to something actually owned by the team and/or the league. Not for any aesthetic reason, but to confound counterfeiters. Think about it this way; Let's say I want an authentic looking Raiders jersey. I can go buy a well-made plain black jersey, take it to my local mom and pop sports store to have silver numbers sewn on, and I am good to go. Now let's say I want an authentic looking Eagles jersey. Even if I track down that (ugly) color jersey, and somehow Ebay myself a few sleeve patches, I still need that font.

That's what all those little details are about... the NFL shield, the logo patches, the wordmarks (especially the wordmarks), and the unique fonts. Money they don't want to lose. I bet the NFL hates the Raiders' jersey, and would give anything for them to, at the very least, add a wordmark.

As for the fanciful explanations that Nike gives for their redesigns... damn, don't any of you watch Mad Men? Look, I'm trying to get you to buy my design. I can give you a long spiel about what it all means, how it relates to your history, and basically make you feel as though I have been obsessing over you and you only, all the while creating this personalized masterpiece. Or, I can say, hey we think this will look nice. Which do you think is better business?

[ohryan]

I'm not a Nike hater, but...

It seems like Nike's intent is on showing off how "creative" they are by trying to justify every little thing they do. I don't want every team to have their own number font simply so they'll be "unique" because of it.

The proprietary fonts that so many team use now have been a big part of most NFL redesigns well before Nike became involved. I'm sure it has less to do with trying to be "unique" than it does with money. My guess is the NFL strongly encourages the teams to switch from a generic, easily replicable block number, to something actually owned by the team and/or the league. Not for any aesthetic reason, but to confound counterfeiters. Think about it this way; Let's say I want an authentic looking Raiders jersey. I can go buy a well-made plain black jersey, take it to my local mom and pop sports store to have silver numbers sewn on, and I am good to go. Now let's say I want an authentic looking Eagles jersey. Even if I track down that (ugly) color jersey, and somehow Ebay myself a few sleeve patches, I still need that font.

That's what all those little details are about... the NFL shield, the logo patches, the wordmarks (especially the wordmarks), and the unique fonts. Money they don't want to lose. I bet the NFL hates the Raiders' jersey, and would give anything for them to, at the very least, add a wordmark.

As for the fanciful explanations that Nike gives for their redesigns... damn, don't any of you watch Mad Men? Look, I'm trying to get you to buy my design. I can give you a long spiel about what it all means, how it relates to your history, and basically make you feel as though I have been obsessing over you and you only, all the while creating this personalized masterpiece. Or, I can say, hey we think this will look nice. Which do you think is better business?

Very good points, and I agree with you on both of them.

As far as the number fonts go, I guess my issue isn't so much with each team having a proprietary font as it is with the designs themselves. I realize there is pretty fine line between design and readability. You can't go too wild on the design without making it hard to read from the stands or on TV, but I'm also a stickler for consistency, and it seems like a lot of these designs that Nike (and other manufactures) are putting out are ignoring that for the sake of being different, or even worse in my mind - just for the sake of maximizing profits. I just hate seeing a team's image compromised at the sake of trying to foil counterfeiters. It just feels like it's getting awfully close to the tail wagging the dog.

Regarding your second point, I get it, I was looking at it from a fan's perspective and not from a business perspective. I'm the kind of guy who wouldn't wear gear from a team that isn't one of "my teams," but I realize that not everybody is like that. I don't need someone trying to spin how cool a Vikings jersey looks, because if I'm a Vikings fan, I'm going to buy it no matter how good or bad it looks - because it's my team. If I'm not a Vikings fan, I'm not going to buy it no matter how hard you try to spin it, because it's not my team. I realize they are trying to sell people on the "coolness" factor instead of just catering to the die-hards or the loyal fans.

I get that sports marketing is a big business with big money involved. I think we as fans have had the luxury of sort of a "happy medium" where we could embrace tradition while at the same time be dipping our toes into some innovative new waters. For some reason though, it feels like we've been moving more rapidly past that and into things like planned obsolescence and advertising on uniforms. Those days just aren't very far away anymore, I'm afraid.

.

[BrandMooreArt]

theres a lot that need some work , like the Cowboys, but i wouldnt change anything major there. as for a completely new uniform design, top to bottom . . .

Ravens

Dolphins

Broncos

Panthers

Seahawks

Rams

Redskins

[Lights Out]

For the people that keep saying the Cowboys need to change or upgrade their look, you need to understand that every little nuance and idiosyncracy about their uniform has a specific, historical reason behind it.

Isn't the reason behind the mismatched colors just that Jerruh is colorblind and can't tell the difference?

[Lights Out]

Please explain to me what looks cheap, dated and unprofessional about the Cowboys uniforms outside of the mismatched colors.

Besides the colors, the designs of all three of their uniforms are totally different, the white jersey randomly uses black (a color that appears nowhere else in their entire identity) on the sleeve stripes, and the weird fat number font on the white jersey just doesn't look good. The Cowboys have the biggest mess of an identity in pro sports and considering how iconic their brand is, there's really no excuse for that.

I think their problems would be solved either by switching to the '90s double-stars (maybe toning them down a bit) or by making their primary white jerseys match the design of their navy jerseys and unifying the color palette.

[coogrfan]

The Bengals and that's about it. Ideally they'd just go back to something similar to the day and age of Corey Dillon.

Dallas has been wearing the mismatching blues and silvers for ages now it seems, that's their look. I'm not sure they should change that just because it would match better.

The Cowboys need a massive overhaul period. Their "home" white jerseys with light blue pants (do we really call them that?) are just "BORING". The navy on silver uniform (although they hardly wear them at all) looks great, I suggest maybe a navy blue or royal blue helmet, have stars on the sides of their white jerseys (just like they do on the navy jerseys), and maybe break tradition and wear royal blue pants with stripes on the pants with a star on top of each pant stripe. That would make a dull white jersey look a whole lot better.

Royal blue pants?!!!

Imho this proposal would result in the ugliest uniform in football history.

[TheOldRoman]

Please explain to me what looks cheap, dated and unprofessional about the Cowboys uniforms outside of the mismatched colors.

Besides the colors, the designs of all three of their uniforms are totally different, the white jersey randomly uses black (a color that appears nowhere else in their entire identity) on the sleeve stripes, and the weird fat number font on the white jersey just doesn't look good. The Cowboys have the biggest mess of an identity in pro sports and considering how iconic their brand is, there's really no excuse for that.

I think their problems would be solved either by switching to the '90s double-stars (maybe toning them down a bit) or by making their primary white jerseys match the design of their navy jerseys and unifying the color palette.

Well, you can't consider the alternate as part of their package, since it's a throwback (actually fauxback). It doesn't matter that it's different from the others. The navy jersey, which so many seem to love but I think sucks, is only worn 1-2 times a year if that, so it's barely part of their package. When people think Dallas Cowboys, they think of the white jerseys. They need to standardize their colors AND go back to the blue jerseys which matched the white one. Ideally, the stripes would be silver instead of black, but that uniform is too iconic to change now. It's been like that through various helmet and pants changes.

I disagree with you on every aspect of their identity. The doublestars are terrible and navy is wrong for them. Their white jerseys are iconic, so they need to fix everything around them. Make everything dark royal blue and one shade of silver. Maybe bring back the '70s font (although the current font is fine). Make a blue jersey in the same style as the white, to be worn with the same pants and socks. That easily fixes all the issues with their uniforms AND puts them back where they were during their '70s heyday. That's a much better solution than using the clownish doublestars and/or furthering the blandification of sports by switching to navy.