The NFL Uniforms History

Review of the NFL uniforms through the 21st century. How the NFL changed through the years. NFL uniforms and the needs of the NFL teams.

After doing some research, I found out that no one has actually documented the history of the NFL uniforms properly, yet there are some interesting facts on how the uniforms have developed year after year, depending on the needs of the NFL players and the game itself. For example, single-bar facemask was thought to appear in 1959, yet some recent documentation has proved that this mask was worn long before that. Although, during the 1960’s the NFL teams and advertisers realized the huge commercial potential it was to place the team’s logo on the helmet.

Later on, during the 1970’s when the rivalries among teams began to be cleared, the NFL made strategic changes on the uniforms to portray their teams, especially since the NFL and the AFL started to become unified: colored facemasks and bright colors came along as part of the glamour of the football players’ outfit. One uniform that is a classic NFL trademark of the seventies was the San Francisco 49ers uniform, which extended their pant stripes the longest to date in NFL history.

During the 1980’s shoulder pads began to grow bigger and bigger as the pace of the game increased and the size of the NFL players escalated. Yet it wasn’t until the 1990’s that the NFL teams were finally merging with their visual characteristics and fan gear became a huge success especially with the 75th anniversary of the National Football League. Some sort of retro look began to be a favorite among fans so some teams went back to their origins with a modern twist on their colors and logos.

Finally, along with the whole craziness of the year 2000 we noticed that every single NFL team recognized the importance of a quality looking uniform: everyone was making changes, some subtle and some risky but changes after all. Some teams kept some of their statutory logos and colors yet added a few minor details to catch viewers’ attention. Other NFL teams went ahead and trusted the well known potential set on the helmets for commercial purposes and blended it with a modernized image to coincide with the popularity of the NFL individual visual identity.