With Reebok's apparel agreement with the NFL due to expire one week from today, I thought I'd take a look ahead at what the new Nike contract means for the Denver Broncos. If you haven't already heard, the Broncos are returning to their predominantly orange roots for the 2012 season. The blue uniforms in which the Broncos achieved Super Bowl success will be replaced with what we currently know as our "orange alternate" jersey...
...or will they? Stick with me after the jump...
In 2010, when fans petitioned the Denver Broncos to make the color scheme change, the team listened. On October 3, 2011 the league officially approved the switch and the Broncos will again be clad in orange when the 2012 season opens. According to this article from the Denver Post, the uniform change is essentially a full time switch to what is now our current alternate jersey...
However, a few days ago Pro Football Talk''s Mike Florio published this article about the league's changeover to Nike. In looking at both the Denver Post article and Florio's article, I'm beginning to wonder if the uniform will indeed remain the orange alternate everyone suspected since the news was announced.
...With a Nike exec saying in October 2010 that the company plans on "changing the NFL jersey dramatically," the league is now saying otherwise.
"Logos are controlled by teams and the NFL," league spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT by email this morning. "That will not change. Teams have to apply to league to make changes to logos and colors.
While logo and color changes have to be approved by the league, there's nothing that says that the actual uniform design has to be. Essentially, the Broncos can get their scheme approved and then covertly rework the uniform design without scrutiny. Especially since Broncos Country was satisfied/elated with the announcement not to interfere with questions about it.
It's important to note that once the press ran with story of the the Nike exec's comments about the "changing" of the jerseys, Nike quickly backtracked saying that the changes would be in the materials they're made of and not necessarily the designs.
However, in recent weeks there have been rumblings of certain changes around the league. Last week there was a flurry of twitter rumors that the Seahawks were having some work done either to their full time or their alternate uniform - something that's in step with Florio's article.
Yesterday Nike released a preview of things to come with the Vapor Jet gloves that the players will be wearing in today's Pro Bowl. People on twitter immediately noticed that the Carolina Panthers logo is slightly different from the one that will appear on Cam Newton's helmet in today's Pro Bowl (the changes are in the mouth area and whiskers - it looked a little more aggressive and angry).
Then there's this bit of information from the Miami Sun-Sentinel on January 25th:
[Dolphins team President Mike Dee]... said teams have been instructed to not disclose specifics of the Nike gear until after the Super Bowl, the last NFL game in Reebok attire.
Nike continues to stoke anticipation with a promotional video [posted above], "Nike Football Epic Transformation" narrated by Michael Irvin, who says dramatically, "Friday nights and Saturday afternoons don't lie, change is good. And we're bringing all the change we've got to Sundays."
The NFL's Nike jerseys will be unveiled in April. The draft could be the coming out party for Nike's new line.
The conservative nature of the NFL suggests the change will not be revolutionary. Nike clearly wants to put its stamp on the look of the league, as it has on college football in recent years.
"We're going to be aggressive," Denson said in another CNBC interview last summer. "Some teams are willing to go further than others."
Florio's PFT article also references the April unveil date:
Thus, we won't know for sure the team jerseys that will look different until the new jerseys are unveiled. The league says that'll happen in late April, in connection with the 2012 draft.
So what does all this mean?
Considering the fact that the Broncos have already sought and received permission to switch their color scheme from blue back to orange, there's a high probability that Denver will be a big part of the uniform unveiling in April. There's a good chance that we'll know a bit more about possible changes once the Reebok contract expires with the waning seconds of this year's Super Bowl.
I personally am very excited at the possibility that there will be something new in the Broncos uniform arsenal. Hold off on buying any new jerseys folks! You might miss out on the next chapter of Denver Broncos uniform history.
2 recs | 67 comments
Super excited for Orange Uni revamp
We can at least look good while getting torched on DEF.
Damn good
Trapped in O.C. - January 29, 2012 via Android app
Hahahaha
postpunk27 - January 29, 2012
Gotta look good to play good
DaLostBoy4 - January 30, 2012
Like a spend money to make money thing?
Trapped in O.C. - January 30, 2012 via Android app
Wouldn't mind subtle changes to our suits.
But the Jags, Seahawks, and Dolphins need to get revamped.
Zac Man - January 29, 2012
You can't mess with perfection Zac
Even if it was 40+ years ago
Trapped in O.C. - January 29, 2012 via Android app
The Jaguars should look into a new uniform, logo, stadium, city, front office and player roster.
YouAreSignedIn - January 29, 2012
I see what you did there.
postpunk27 - January 29, 2012
when your owner gets his hairdo from a Pringles can
that’s not so cool
the new Bradfather - January 30, 2012
At least its not this hair-do
Calikula - January 30, 2012
Oh wait wrong guy...
There we go
Calikula - January 30, 2012
The similarity is amazing...
goosebumps
J
Jezru - January 31, 2012
I'd love to see some light blue (baby blue)
added as a highlight color on our uni’s. I tweaked around with them on Madden one time, and it looked real good with the navy, orange and white. Not a lot of it, just a touch here and there.
PaleHorse78 - January 29, 2012
Please God no to baby blue.
Automatik41 - January 29, 2012
DIAF
Light blue is for San Diego p@$#ies and womens eye shadow.
coloradoSportsguy - January 29, 2012
thank you
Automatik41 - January 29, 2012
This ^
weazel - January 29, 2012
And the Denver Nuggets.
Which I wouldn’t associate with the San Diego P@$#ies any other way than light blue.
Thnikkaman - January 30, 2012
nuggs’ unis are cool.
oxmouth - January 30, 2012
Baby Blue ...
Hell no. Now if you wanted to highlight the dark blue with the old 80’s Bronco blue, that could be cool.
Oregon Crush - January 29, 2012 via mobile
the Seahawks are going back to the gray helmets!
the new Bradfather - January 29, 2012
While many people disliked them, I loved what Nike did with the college football unis. I’m sure the NFL unis will be more subtle, but i’m excited to see what they’ll do.
jbbroncosfan27 - January 29, 2012 via mobile
Of course it will be different orange
And that’s just fine by me. I never expected they simply swap main and alternate jerseys
si_ice - January 29, 2012
I already did
hold off. I was going to get one for Christmas but my wife said she couldn’t find a orange #58. I started looking and remembered hearing something about going to NIke instead of Reebock. I soon read about how there could be drastic changes made and told her I would just wait until the new ones came out. The wait may have made the # change to though.
Digger24 - January 29, 2012
A bit sad to see the Blue go
But Nike’s work with the Oregon Ducks has produced some incredible uniforms. I’m going to miss some unique jerseys though, like the Seahawks lime uniform and the Cardinals black uniform.
Topher Doll - January 29, 2012
Nike will still have special variation jersey's for all teams (alternates)
So we’ll still see cool one’s like those you mention (I love those as well). It’s only going to get cooler, so you won’t have time to miss much.
PaleHorse78 - January 29, 2012
I'm all for updating the unis.
I’m not saying go all Oregon or anything, but the last time we had uni changes we ended up winning back to back championships. If they are anything like the Pro Bowl gloves, they sure will be sick, indeed. Can’t wait. I’ve always thought we had the best unis in sports, other than the Lakers. Now they will be even more awesome, hopefully.
postpunk27 - January 29, 2012
An orange, Nike Pro-Combat, Bronco jersey?!!!
Sign me up!!! The first year of the special Pro-Combat jerseys for college brought my Mountaineers the coolest jersey I’ve ever seen. I can’t even imagine how cool they will be for the pros. Super stoked to see these… even the other teams.
PaleHorse78 - January 29, 2012
Great post, Jess!
I sure hope the orange is the vintage, red hued orange of the orange crush era. That color was special beyond words.
I’m sure the Broncos wouldn’t mind a bit of a stylistic redesign. Think about how many people bought Tebow jerseys — and would instantly do so AGAIN.
broncosmontana - January 29, 2012
If anyone has seen the Broncos history DVD put out by the league
they did a spectacular job color balancing that film to match the orange crush hue. Gave me goosebumps the first time I watched it.
broncosmontana - January 29, 2012
The Broncos' uniform design has gone the way of tribal tattoos...
Nothing like a reminder of how awesome you used to be in the ’90s.
Velveeta - January 29, 2012
probably too much to hope for from the folks who dress out the oregon ducks, but i’d love to see a classic style that won’t look five-years-ago trendy for the next fifteen years.
oxmouth - January 29, 2012
I would love to see a return to the old blue
Our current colors are too similar to the Bears
Albuquerque - January 29, 2012
Panthers confirm their logo will be tweaked in 2012....
Here’s the article.
J
Jezru - January 29, 2012
I'm excited to see the changes
BroncoMath101 - January 29, 2012
that panthers logo is much cleaner. smarter use of color and lines. nice improvements.
If anything is done to the Broncos ID, I hope it is simply cleaning up and streamlining the current design. We have established some tradition behind our look, and I’d hate to see it gutted every few years.
Can’t wait to see them playing in orange again!
wyrob - January 29, 2012
I am so glad to see orange coming back
I am also excited to see what kinds of changes Nike makes.
weazel - January 29, 2012
Wow
Von Miller with the only two sacks of the Pro Bowl on Cam Newton! He’s dominating in the 4th quarter…we’re being represented well!
jbbroncosfan27 - January 29, 2012 via mobile
He also forced a fumble that Champ recovered!
Broncotodd - January 30, 2012
Did he?
I knew Champ recovered it, but I didn’t realize he forced it. Overall, the Pro Bowl was a joke, but it was still cool seeing them play well!
jbbroncosfan27 - January 30, 2012 via mobile
Would be great if the fans could get Pat Bowlen to switch the Logo and Helmets back to this
Would love to see that. Love this logo. Not a huge fan of the current logo.
KraigK - January 29, 2012
it was a great era!
the new Bradfather - January 29, 2012
If you look at the logos in that picture...
They’re different… I remember seeing a site somewhere that dileneated the minor tweaks the logo went through over the years… I can’t say off hand which is the 77-92 version (if I had to guess it would be the one on the helmet), but you can see the differences in the mane of the horse as well as the (what do you call that?) breath shooting out over the D.
Kinda cool! Thanks for posting it!
J
Jezru - January 30, 2012
Steam brother...
All steam, like an angry stud horse ready to kick the sh*t out of a stupid tooth-less pirate wannabe…
Trapped in O.C. - January 30, 2012 via Android app
AWESOME!
the new Bradfather - January 30, 2012
Nah...love the old logo simply for
nostalgic reasons but the current logo is much cooler (and has 2 SBs contained w/in it!)
rubincarterrocks - January 30, 2012
it's what Rubin Carter wore!
the new Bradfather - January 30, 2012
The logo had nothing to do with the SB though
KraigK - January 30, 2012
The Current Logo has no Ties to denver
this team is going to be build on Defense moving forward IMO. The D symbolizes that and represents Denver.
I personally dislike the new logo. I don’t think he looks cooler or more modern. I think the team should go back to its roots. The identity of the Denver Broncos was built with that Logo IMO.
KraigK - January 30, 2012
Very surprised this didn't get any recs
KraigK - January 30, 2012
ok, but didn't nike design the current broncos uniform?
remember the controversy about the swoosh sides and legs, although the design team denied they ever thought about the similarity to the nike swoosh? i like the current colors and design, once we go back to orange top homes. also, i’m not suggesting we change to super retro colors, but the simplicity of the brown/yellow unis (minus the striped socks but definitely plus the numbered helmets), was much cooler than the new trend of more garish unis.
ssc - January 30, 2012
A Picture says a thousand words.....
Word…… Just kidding, but really, look @ the swoosh on the arm. I vividly remember these uniforms. The Nike logo on the arms. I don’t know who designed them, but Nike sure as heck made them.
Dozer3677 - January 30, 2012
I don't love the current uniforms
The first step is to return to orange. The Denver Broncos are Orange and Blue, not Blue and Orange. Second step is to return to one of the older shades of orange, in my opinion. The current shade is a bit rough on the eyes.
But whatever the uniforms look like this year, the first step has been taken, and it’s about damned time.
BroncosBassist - January 30, 2012
Remember, the whole purpose of the orange
unis has always been so you could go straight from a game to your favorite deer hunting zone…
rubincarterrocks - January 30, 2012
and the shade of blue
on the unis of the 80s is just like the sky in Bronco Country (Colorado, Montana, UTAH, northern Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, parts of South Dakota/Kansas/Nebraska)… bereft of pollution and John Denver’s favorite haunt!
the new Bradfather - January 30, 2012
agree here, too.
the orange should be darkened and moved a bit toward red and away from yellow. the current color looks like the “Tangerine Crush” … which just doesn’t sound as cool.
oxmouth - January 30, 2012
Our blue jersey is the worst looking uniform in the NFL outside Jacksonville. If we can’t throw that POS into the trash, I’m going to be mad.
McGeorge - January 30, 2012
Are you kidding me?
Bengals,Browns,Chargers are way worse than the blue Broncos jerseys
Automatik41 - January 30, 2012
And seahawks
Calikula - January 30, 2012
Completely disagree
The Orange Bears jersey, the Jags jerseys (Not black), those old all red Giants uni’s, the yellow steelers jerseys, vikings jerseys in general, texans red, all of those are worse than the Broncos Blue, IMHO. I like the Blues, especially in an all blue uniform, but too many teams don’t go all dark.
Dozer3677 - January 30, 2012
I kind of like the red Giants uni's
MTBroncosFan - January 30, 2012
the all-red Giants jerseys were so LOUD
that I couldn’t hear the broadcast
the new Bradfather - January 30, 2012
Really? I hate the blue on blue
I like the blue on white for the contrast
Calikula - January 30, 2012
Orange. I love it, but here's why it may hurt and help our team
Orange is my favorite color. I just love how it flashes and can be so beautiful to the eye. Some of the prettiest flowers are orange. I went to college wearing orange color and having the tiger as our mascot. For that I am thrilled to have the Broncos go with orange as the primary color.
But, as for a competitve edge, orange is one of the worse color for our defence. Why are construction signs orange or yellow? Because they are easy color to see, it stands out. This discussion happened in hockey a few years back about a goaltender that liked to wear bright yellow pass. Read this article:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=9c414e6d-22b2-4deb-b246-0c059e65425e
In the article, it explains why a optometrist wrote a goaltender to let him know his bright yellow pads were bad for him. The reasoning was that it made it easier for player to see and shoot beside them. She suggested he switch to white (I know white is bright, but since the ice and the boards are white in hockey, white is hard to see) and I can tell you that it has worked for him. So much so that the following year, another goaltender was making the switch from yellow to white as well.
So back to football, what happens when the defence comes rushing to the QB with bright orange uniform? Well, it will be much easier for QB to see the play develop and also easier to find an open receiver. You think that getting the blue jersey brought luck with two superbowl championships? I think it was more then that. I’m just specuating here, but I wouldn’t be surprise if that it made it much harder for the opposing QB to see our defence play develop.
However, there is one positive side to that story: it will be easier for Tebow to find his targets. John Elway was so experienced by the mid-90s that he didn’t care what color his players wear, but for a young player like Tebow, it may save him a few tenth of a second to find his target…so while our defence may be hurt by the color, it may help our offense.
macklure - January 30, 2012
Solution:
Green for defense, orange for offense.
Since1993 - January 30, 2012
Silver?
I remember a recent mock-up that had the new logo, an orange uni (not sure if old or new shade), and a silver helmet. The thing that really surprised me was how much I liked the silver helmet.
I hope we see a nice blend of old and new in the design. I certainly hope we don’t try to copy the old uniform. There’s a reason classic cars don’t do so well when re-introduced as a modern model…
RedSavina - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
Will every team have 100 uniform combinations like the Oregon Ducks?
Bob in Boulder - January 30, 2012
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