NFL 2020 Uniforms Review
This year has been the biggest ever for NFL team branding. Seven teams introduced new uniforms, some with new logos. Instead of going too deep into each team, I thought it would be interesting to do a quick overview of each. And instead of giving each team a grade, I have just ordered them by who I think did it best.
1. Browns
A common quality of every Nike-era uniform is having that one thing that keeps it from being perfect. For the Browns, that’s the number font which features seemingly random mixes of rounded and chamfered corners. The custom font does the same thing and though we can score them points for having proprietary type, it’s just very ham fisted.
“As you look at iconic franchises like the Browns, the Bears, the Packers, the Cowboys — they’re true to who they are. They’re not doing a lot of changes and trying to make a lot of flashy moves with their uniforms. I think when we went through the process, it just felt right that we got back to who we are and who we’ll always be.” — JW Johnson, owner
I agree with Johnson. Overall, this feels like a fresh-enough take on the classic uniform which can be traced back to the 1950s. It’s still such a unique uniform for its colors and lack of helmet logo that it actually feels like one of the more modern NFL uniforms in regards to broader graphic design trends. The biggest scar on the whole set is the stripe-less brown alternate which literally looks like poo.
2. Chargers
Like the Browns, the overall package looks really nice but there are some details I’d love to tweak. The updated bolt logo is a fantastic evolution and looks great on helmets, but the new wordmark feels neither modern, nor specifically “Chargers”, nor fits with the throwback theme. Its a generic sports wordmark with a shoehorned lightning bolt.
The bolts on the jerseys don’t seem to really work. They‘re’ a bit narrow and personally, I liked it when they were trapped inside a white or blue shape which seemed to emphasize the players shoulders. It’s not enough to hurt the uniform though. It’s still so uniquely “Chargers” that the flaw is just a matter of executional details rather than the idea itself.
There are definitely too many blues. The royal set really gives Rams vibes so i’d throw that one out. The navy is cool with a “storm cloud” kind of narrative, but playing off their most boring historical look. The overall aesthetic is one that stems from college football— remember when everyone was doing that “one design with different colors” thing? That’s what we have here but again, it’s still a solid look.
There’s other annoying details too, but none of are as important as the branding direction they took. They were always so resilient to lean into their history while in San Diego, but now that they’re in a new city, they finally do so and evolve every piece of their SD history. I imagine it has to feel a bit of a slap in the face to SD-era fans and maybe a bit confusing to LA fans representing all the SD identities. It’s an odd choice, but if you’re just a football fan, the updated logo, colors, and big ass lightning bolts is pretty exciting.
3. Buccaneers
This is more of a throwback (to just 5 years ago) than any other team, but really feels right. Coming off one of the worst uniform designs in the history of the league, anything they were going to do had to be an improvement. Unfortunately, they didn’t bring back the previous logos, so they’re still stuck with the cheap imitations of the ’97 brand. If we’re just grading on logos here, they still have one of the poorest sets in the NFL which bring down an otherwise great set of home and away uniforms. The all pewter alternate is that “one thing Nike can’t help but ruin an otherwise good set” with.
If still using the current set of logos, this was the time to correct some wrongs of the older uniforms. Like, the ships sails being black on the road and home uniform which screams “Raiders”. The sails are red on the Pewter jersey.
The big picture view here is good though. Blood red, pewter, some black, a big ass helmet logo; it’s a likable set for sure and the overarching aesthetic is so right for piratical football.
4. Colts
Like the Chargers, Indy has some nice-enough looking elements but based on some really odd decisions. If the SD and LA history is messy, the Baltimore and Indy history of the Colts is a disaster. So the team bringing back the number style of the Baltimore era is not a move I (a Colts fan) could support. Sure, the numbers look cool, but whats the history and meaning tied to them? That MUST be considered. It’s something that should have been left in the past, or at the very least evolved to be something new. They added a new secondary logo, added black (“Anvil”) color to their palette, and a new wordmark. Stealing Baltimore’s numbers and slapping them on the uniform feels insensitive and not executed to the brief they’ve set.
The new wordmark is appreciated, as the old Playbill mark always seemed like a cartoon version of a western font to me, but still isn’t exactly a great piece of typography. For one, the tiny chamfered cuts on the wordmark and secondary logo are too delicate; too small. Especially compared to the beefy serifs and cuts on the numbers.
There is certainly a blacksmithing concept being applied here; the new marks, numbers, and Anvil Gray all hint at that, but maybe comes off a bit more industrial? That idea still works for Indy, but the new elements don’t quite nail one thing on a high level. The addition of Anvil Gray swooshes (the color is found no where else) on the road jerseys is one of the most annoying and confusing moves I’ve ever seen on an NFL uniform. The writing is on the wall though, they want an Anvil Gray alternate jersey (if not complete uniform).
The new typeface is absolutely lovely and takes visual cues from the Baltimore numbers and evolves them into something new. The serifs and chamfered corners are as chunky as they should be and feature slightly rounded corners in all the right places. It’s how the other marks should have been executed. As great as it is though, it only begs further questions about the NFL identity process. If the new wordmark was going to be set in a new font with no further customization, why wouldn’t they develop this new typeface to be used for that? My hunch is the NFL worked on the new identities and perhaps the team worked closer with Joe Bosack Co. to develop the font. What we have now is 2 typefaces that are slightly different and those inconsistencies make this whole identity weaker. Odd, that they eliminated the slight variations of the primary logo and the helmet used version of the horseshoe, only to land the exact same problem with their typography.
They still look like the Colts so this isn’t a big change, but the changes made make the whole set much lesser. If they were good uniforms before, they’re average (at best) now.
5. Falcons
I was never going to be satisfied with anything they came out with; the previous uniforms were perfection, one of my all time favorites. But at least, they kept the primary logo, another best-in-league element.
They’ve aimed for the future but this uniform lands mostly in 2015. Metallic vinyl logo on the helmet, matte black shell, chrome masks, big collegiate wordmark on the jersey, and a horribly tacky gradient jersey. I’d like to see a mix of jersey and pants color (black over white or white over black) to avoid any arena league connotations.
The new number font is nice, but could benefit from some rounded corners or more curves in general. It’s like the other uni elements are trying to reflect the lines in the logo but the longest line in the logo is the curve on the back of the wing. It all needs some fluid, curving lines throughout to achieve harmony.
For giggles I experimented with that. I wouldn’t call this an answer to the Falcons problems, but I think it would be a push in the right direction. Even just rounding some corners on the numbers I feel helps bring all the elements together in a nicer way.
Also, Perhaps what makes this feel a bit disjointed is there is movement in different directions happening here. The spikes on “ATL” and number shadows suggest side to side movement while the gradient jersey and side swoops suggest vertical. The Chargers get away with more randomness in that aspect because the theme is electricity, but this Identity, especially with such a precise logo, should probably focus on one thing.
6. Rams
There’s never been a brand identity packed with so many ideas. This should have been an easy win; make some small improvements to the Dickerson era uniforms. Instead they’re trying to tie the team to the city, reflect sun and water, a wave, forward thinking and traditional elements, and streetwear fashion styles. For that, I don’t believe this will be a long lasting identity. There is nothing more fleeting than fashion styles and building a brand identity on that seems shortsighted. It would be great to see an apparel line based on streetwear, or marketing campaigns, but it’s not inspiration for Identity design.
What they’ve done to the helmet horn is absolute sacrilege. That horn was the first art ever applied to a football helmet and instead of handling that with reverence, it feels like someone eager to put their own mark on it. After 70 years, someone finally had enough and wanted to fix something that was never broken. Shorten the horn, or make it fit nicer on modern helmets? Sure. But breaking it apart and making it “spiral” as such? There’s no reason to do this other than wanting to make it different than before. Whatever wave concept they were going for in the logo is completely lost here. It might have worked better being blue on a white or yellow helmet.
There’s something likable about the vibe, though. The warm gray color is actually really cool, the new number font is one of the better ones in the NFL and reflects the helmet horn in the way the Falcons numbers should have, and the helmet’s paint is gorgeous. I am drawn to this even though I don’t think it’s very good.
The execution is head scratching. The horns should have been painted on because the decals applied look cheap. The jerseys elements look like they’re made of plastic, there’s too much variation between home and away for no reason, and way too many ideas in one place. It doesn’t seem the Rams know who they are or who they want to be; they’re trying to be everything at once. Let’s hope they make a Browns-like move in 5 years.
They’ve hinted at new additions over the next 2 years as well. I assume they would add a yellow jersey to honor the 1951 Championship team next year, and an all blue and white version to honor the Fearsome Foursome years in 2022.
7. Patriots
This is a High School uniform. It truly doesn’t look like anyone cared about how this came out. Someone said “make it more like the Color Rush uniform” and they kind of did that. It’s bad and honestly, not worth talking about.
Final Thoughts
6 of the 7 teams approached their new uniforms with a focus on both past and present. The only team to really try and push things forward are the Falcons, but even they have the faux-back alternate. Some of the final results feel like a nice balance of both where they actually live up to Nike’s motto “respect the past, represent the future” and others feel like they’re stuck in a time-warp. Those feel like they’ve taken both old and new things and thrown them together rather than blending them. I wonder how much of the dips into the past are reflective of the current zeitgeist? How much are we reaching for nostalgia because we just want to feel good about sports teams because there’s not a lot in the world of 2020 to feel good about? And how much of this is based on the fact that older uniforms are consistently better than Nike’s new fangled conglomerations? The Jaguars, Dolphins, Bucs, and Browns have already reverted in some manner away from Nike’s first attempt at their uniform design. It wouldn’t be surprising to see at least the Titans, Falcons, and Rams do the same in 4-5 years.
The teams are still not afraid to take wild swings at their alternate uniforms. Thankfully, we won’t need to see them more than twice a year, but there’s not a single new alternate (or promise of an alternate with the Colts) that I would consider good. I’d love to hear hear an argument for how the all brown, all pewter, gradient red/black, or anvil gray, uniforms aren’t 100% ugly. The best of the bunch might be the Chargers royal blues and even then, those look too much like the current Rams primaries. It’s all such a reach to do something new or something different that I can’t believe anyone at NFL / Nike is actually considering doing something good. Something with taste and control.
Regardless of how you might have felt about the Reebok era uniforms, it’s undeniable that they were working under a single direction and idea. Nike uniforms now feel like they’re throwing way too many ideas into one place and this is not all the fault of the Swoosh. The NFL is as involved in these as anyone else and often these uniforms are done under their direction. There is something about this new process, or people involved in it, that needs to change, or the best uniform design we can ever hope for is something like the Vikings, Browns, or Lions: “It’s pretty good despite that one thing that keeps it from being really great”.
