NFL jerseys are the pride and joy of many football fans. What’s better than wearing your favorite player’s number every single Sunday? In April, Nike unveiled its new line of jerseys after becoming the official outfitter of the NFL. There was much speculation that Nike would completely revamp the jerseys in a crazy fashion. However, that was not the case and they stayed pretty conservative with the designs. Many people are still confused about the new items and whether their worth the increased price tag, and I don’t blame them. I’ve had the jersey ups and down so many times that family members beg me not to buy the latest Bengals jersey for fear that the player will be traded within the season (hello Houshmandzadeh and Ochocinco). I choose jerseys carefully and thoughtfully to know what I’m spending my cash on. So, before you decide to invest your hard earned money in that new jersey, here’s all you need to know.
The difference in these jerseys is definitely in fabric and construction. Reebok jerseys were all generally a mesh fabric in the front and back panel with solid polyester in the side panels, shoulders, and sleeves. The new Nike jerseys will feature the mesh in the side panels with a solid moisture wicking fabric in the front, back, shoulder, and sleeve panels. The authentic jerseys will still feature tackle twill numbers and names while the cheaper jerseys will feature screen printing. In the realm of real uniforms, not just the jerseys you or I can purchase, the biggest idea Nike focused on was making them lighter weight and allowing for customizable padding to make playing football safer.
The new Nike jerseys all generally have the same colors, designs, and logos. There are a few teams who are changing their logos this year or within the next year, and those teams are the Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks. The logos will not be radically altered, just made sleeker and more contemporary. In 2013 there are also two teams undergoing color changes. The Jacksonville Jaguars will change their main jersey (which they wear for home games) from teal to black, while the Denver Broncos will be changing their home color from navy blue to orange (which was their alternate jersey color).
This first Nike jersey roll out wasn’t very surprising or game changing. They look sleek and are lighter weight, but really no design change was implemented like they’ve done with some of their college teams. However, changing logos, colors, and styles for NFL teams is a very difficult and time consuming task, so there was really no way Nike could have all of a sudden redesigned every team in the league. The good news: this creative company will most certainly attempt design changes during their current 5 year contract with the NFL, and that’s going to be fun to watch.
