Nike Bring NFL Right Up To Date

by Dugald Skene

Nike unveiled it's new 'Elite 51' uniforms for the 32 NFL teams for the upcoming 2012 season yesterday in New York.  It signals the single biggest change to the style and technology of the strips as Nike begin their 5 year licensing deal with the league following the conclusion of Reebok's 10 year contract.

Nike have updated the designs for all 32 NFL teams

The single biggest change has been to the technology, particularly the material.  Nike claim the jersey's are 20%-30% lighter and have a special '4-way' stretch technology that sees the jersey's become a lot tighter and more contoured to the players.  Combined with new collar designs and mesh panels, this extra tightness contributes to an overall dramatic change in appearance and fit that I think sees the uniforms look a lot more up to date.

Victor Cruz, Super Bowl winner with the Giants earlier this year, was on hand in New York to model the Giants new look.  He said "the [uniforms] conform to your body. They're tight. You can't get pulled or snagged on. That's the biggest thing for me: making sure that I'm sleek and I'm fast and I can't be grabbed or held."

Nike have gone into a lot of detail, not just producing jerseys, pants and helmet designs, but also shoes and gloves.  Here's a selection of some of the various details and designs:

Oakland Raiders have a particularly menacing outfit

Cincinnati Bengals pants detail

New Orleans Saints gloves

Carolina Panthers shoes

As well as the design, Nike have also worked hard on the integration of technologies into the fabric, most notably the integral padding in the baselayers around all of the "hit zones".  As well as the '4-way' fabric, integrated Flywire technology has been installed into the neckline to reduce weight and provide lock down fit over pads, increasing sleeve articulation for better range of motion.

Todd Van Horne, Nike’s Design Director for Football, said "Our brief was to provide players with everything they need and nothing more. We blended cutting edge technology and fabrications with more than 40 years of knowledge, craft and insight into the game. We worked closely with the teams, listening to their needs and delivering the best options to serve those athletes".

Of all the teams, it's the Seattle Seahawks who have had their appearance most radically updated, with a darker blue jersey and an updated, more aggressive looking graphic on the helmet.  Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, said the Seahawks were "very open and actually eager" to push a head-to-toe uniform redesign. "We worked with the players, coach and trainers. Really the whole Seattle organisation."

The new Seahawks uniform

It's good news for fans too as Nike have said that they will be producing a lot more training apparel and making more fan based memorabilia available.  Unfortunately though, it looks like the replica jerseys will cost a little more.  The old Reebok replicas came in at around $85 and the new Nike tops will be closer to $100.

What do you think of the new uniforms and the revised Seahawks design?