On Tuesday, Nike unveiled the new NFL uniforms. There was not much missing: most teams got a new look (or at least a few tweaks) thanks to the Swoosh, and the star power, in terms of the players present, was stout.
One thing not covered? Throw Backs, which is not much discussed in the wake of the new jerseys. However, Creative Director of Nike soccer Todd Van Horne says that throwback jerseys are definitely something about Nike has talked to teams and they will eventually come down the pipe for teams that want them.
One thing not covered? Throw Backs, which is not much discussed in the wake of the new jerseys. However, Creative Director of Nike soccer Todd Van Horne says that throwback jerseys are definitely something about Nike has talked to teams and they will eventually come down the pipe for teams that want them.
"Part of it is yet to come," Van Horne said Tuesday. "The NFL has very strict rules about what happens on the third jersey and alternate colors. So much of that is individual and team decision about what will happen."
Each team announced the release of a home jersey and a road jersey on Tuesday, many teams also produced a third, alternate jersey. (Each of them has even announced - at the moment everything in my brains is any shade of blue green so it's hard to tell what's what.)
But sometimes, teams like the Bills and the Patriots prefer the old school kicking and arresting items such as AFL jerseys. Van Horne told CBSSports.com that fans can still expect throwbacks, but they decided not - the key was to get to Tuesday with all the "standard" jumpers down in a way that satisfied the NFL teams closed first.
"Ownership - the most exciting part for them - is at this point where we have a house and a sweater that way to see you in 99 percent of the time," Van Horne said. "Let us make sure that looks great and we will work on the third jersey at a later date."
As the season moves, Nike will continue to work with different franchises, Van Horne says, to ensure that they are the product they want produced in time for when they want to wear it.
"We will work with the teams as they go," Van Horne said. "It is the individual teams to decide if they want to do that or not. So that is something we are working with them."
There was some concern that Nike would take the same approach with the uniforms as they did with several Pro Combat college football jerseys, instead, it is clear from the disclosure on Tuesday that Nike is not trying to push the envelope with teams unless these teams are really interested in shaking things.
Given the success of the jerseys on Tuesday, it is possible that along the line we were some pretty fascinating throwback and / or alternate jerseys to see if teams really start to trust the process.
