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To quote the great Deion Sanders, if you look good, you feel good and you play good. Some NFL uniforms look better than others. To help pass the time until the regular season opener, we’re going to grade and rank the top 12 uniforms in the NFL.
In this ranking, each team receives an overall uniform grade, which is derived from the average of three mini-grades: color jersey, white jersey and alternate uniform(s).
If a team typically wears their color jersey on top of color pants (i.e. the Seahawks), then that uniform is categorized as their color jersey. Keep in mind that some teams almost always wear white (i.e. the Dolphins and Cowboys), so a color jersey isn’t always synonymous with a home uniform.
There will be some surprises in this ranking. There will be some teams with a great color uniform or a great white uniform, but their alternate or throwback uniform drags down their grade.
Without any further ado, let’s start at the bottom and work our way up.
Next: 12. Philadelphia Eagles
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12. Philadelphia Eagles
Overall grade: 8.50
Color uniform: 8.00
White uniform: 8.00
Alternate uniform: 9.50
Let’s start with the basic truth here: the Eagles are the only team that sports midnight green. The Jets and Packers wear dark green, but neither of those shades of dark green look as good as Philly’s version.
There’s not too much to distinguish between the Eagles’ color and white tops. The dark green looks sharp on white pants, and the white looks sharp on dark green pants. And the all-whites are fine too.
However, while the midnight green and white mesh well, these aren’t the flashiest of jerseys. They are above average, but it is the black alternates, in particular the all-black, that separate the Eagles from the other 20 teams in the NFL.
In the future, Nike should consider an alternate grey jersey. After all, grey is part of the Eagles’ color scheme, albeit minor. Grey streaks appear on the sides of the pants.
If the Eagles wanted to break the top ten of NFL uniforms, they would switch to their old kelly green get-ups. This time last year, the team was reportedly considering them. Midnight green may be a unique color in the NFL, but kelly green would be one of the best jerseys overall.
Next: 11. New England Patriots
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11. New England Patriots
Overall grade: 8.50
Color uniform: 9.00
White uniform: 8.00
Alternate uniform: N/A
If it weren’t for the NFL making the puzzling decision of outlawing alternate helmets in 2013, the Patriots would be in the top five. But because the old Pat Patriot helmets aren’t allowed anymore, the team had to retire the red throwbacks entirely; those uniforms would have received a perfect 10.00.
The Patriots’ blue-on-silver uniforms are one of the best home sets in the league. The navy and silver combination is easy on the eyes.
When the Pats hit the road, they don’t look as good as they do at home. There’s nothing wrong with the white jerseys, but the navy pants are a bit of a force. Maybe the Pats will introduce red pants to go with the white shirts; that could be pretty cool.
If Nike isn’t going to bring back the red throwbacks, then they should at least revive the silver alternates that the Patriots sported in the middle of the 2000s. Only one team wears silver on occasion (the Seahawks), so this would be a point of differentiation in the Patriots’ uniform set.
There’s a lot of potential with the Patriots’ color scheme. Let’s hope that the away jersey gets improved and the silver alternates get brought back.
Next: 10. Chicago Bears
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10. Chicago Bears
Overall grade: 8.58
Color uniform: 9.50
White uniform: 9.75
Alternate uniform: 6.5
As you can see, the Bears would have a much higher grade if it weren’t for their unfortunate alternate jerseys, the throwbacks that pretty much mirror the current jerseys.
Throwbacks can be a great thing, and they can be a terrible thing. For example, the Patriots’ red throwbacks that keep Pat Patriot alive are sweet, and it’s a shame Nike hasn’t produced a set since replacing Reebok as the uniform manufacturer of the NFL. But the Bears are a different case.
The problem with the Bears’ throwbacks is the typical viewer usually doesn’t pick up on the fact that they aren’t the normal uniforms. It’s the similarity between the current uniforms and the throwbacks that detract from the Bears’ grade in this category.
And that’s too bad, because otherwise the Bears have quite possibly the best duds in the NFL. The white, navy and orange color mix is classic yet eternally modern.
Navy-on-white, white-on-navy and the all-whites are all great looks. No drop-off in quality in any of those sets.
Maybe the Bears will stop wearing the throwback and replace it with the orange alternate they wore before Nike took over.
Next: 9. Carolina Panthers
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9. Carolina Panthers
Overall grade: 8.67
Color uniform: 8.25
White uniform: 8.00
Alternate uniforms: 9.50
If it weren’t for their pair of outstanding alternate looks, the Panthers would still look like the year 1996. Their black jerseys on silver pants are solid, but the white-on-white takes us back to the Clinton administration. It’s not bad enough to warrant a grade below 8.00, but it’s the alternate jerseys that pull the Panthers’ weight in this ranking of NFL uniforms.
The all-black jerseys were voted the greatest in NFL history by fans a few years back, and with good reason. It is the best all-black combination in the league, and the second-best black jersey behind a team that you have yet to read about.
The Panthers’ official website tells us that the black shirt will be worn six times this season, the white seven and the alternate blues three (against the Jaguars and then the Cowboys on Thanksgiving). We don’t know yet when the black pants will be broken out.
Those light blue alternates are also really cool. They are the second-best light/powder blue garments in the NFL. If the Panthers took my advice, they would wear the blues in six games on top of silver pants, and the all-blacks in the three other games.
Next: 8. Seattle Seahawks
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8. Seattle Seahawks
Overall grade: 8.75
Color uniform: 7.75
White uniform: 8.75
Alternate uniform: 9.75
Since Nike got rid of the Seahawks’ vomit-inducing jerseys that the team wore from 2002 through 2011, the Seahawks have won a bunch of games. Some of their success can be attributed to their new clothes
The weak link in the Seahawks’ uniforms is their home jersey, the navy-on-navy. I just think that’s a bit too much navy for a pair of eyes to process at one time, especially with the navy helmet on top of it all.
However, the Seahawks look real good in white. All-white, white-on-navy and white-on-wolf grey are all great looks with the navy helmets.
What boosts the Seahawks substantially is their all-wolf grey alternates. The Seahawks are the only team in the NFL that wears a grey shirt with grey pants, and that uniqueness goes a long way.
It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks ever wear an alternate neon green jersey. It’s the only color in their scheme that doesn’t have a jersey of its own, yet it plays an important role in the trim of each uniform. The Seahawks wore an ugly neon-on-navy combination in 2009 before the Nike contract, but that was the only time (thankfully). Maybe Nike could do it better than Reebok.
Next: 7. Buffalo Bills
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7. Buffalo Bills
Overall grade: 8.83
Color uniform: 8.50
White uniform: 9.00
Alternate uniform: 9.00
After playing with the worst uniforms in the NFL from 2002-2010, the Bills finally revamped their color scheme. And they did a really good job.
Red, white and blue. No team in the NFL matches the colors of the American flag better than these wagon-circlers.
The Bills’ color uniform features a sharp blue jersey between that white helmet and white pants. The color jersey drags the Bills below the 9.00 grade because it is slightly plain, but there’s nothing all that wrong with it.
The Bills rival a few teams that you will read about later in this slideshow with their all-white duds. It is a classic look, reminiscent of the Bills’ old AFL days. Whenever a team pays homage to their roots, they score points in the uniform department.
The blue pants the Bills wear every now and then, both with the white jersey and the blue, are awesome. The blue really stands out next to the white, and the red trim down the sides are a great touch.
Don’t be surprised if the Bills get bold in a few years and introduce an alternate red jersey.
Next: 6. Indianapolis Colts
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6. Indianapolis Colts
Overall grade: 9.00
Color uniform: 9.00
White uniform: 9.00
Alternate uniform: N/A
Except for a brief experiment with blue pants in the Marshall Faulk era back in the 1990s, the Colts have worn blue-on-white or white-on-white for as long as they’ve been a football team. That consistency alone scores them points among NFL uniforms critics.
Anyone who’s played horseshoes knows that it’s a great backyard barbeque game. It’s also an awesome logo for a football team.
Pair that traditional logo with the color blue—arguably the best color on the rainbow—and you have a great set of uniforms.
Only one other team in the NFL wears blue better than the Colts (keep reading, you’ll find out who). It’s not too dark, not too navy, not too light. It’s the kind of blue you’d find in a dictionary next to the word “blue”.
That blue works really well as a complement when the Colts wear all-white. If they are smart, the Colts won’t change their uniforms anytime soon, and the definitely won’t return to the blue pants they wore a few decades ago.
It’s sort of funny to think that as long as Andrew Luck plays in Indianapolis, he will never wear anything but white pants.
Next: 5. Kansas City Chiefs
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Overall uniform: 9
Color jersey: 8.75
White uniform: 9.25
Alternate uniform: 9.00
No team wears red better than the Chiefs, and it’s because they’ve been wearing red pretty much the same way since their inception in 1960.
The simple red-on-white with the arrowhead logo on the helmet is clean look if there ever was one. It barely misses the 9.00 grade, but that’s not the case for the Chiefs’ white jersey.
When the Chiefs wear white, they are just about always the best-looking team on the field. Their white-on-white look is arguably the best all-white uniform in the league. The red helmet over the whites is natural.
As a Patriots fan, I will never forget the shellacking the Pats got at the hands of the Chiefs back in Week 4 of 2014. It was an utter and complete embarrassment on Monday Night Football; the Chiefs out-did the Pats in everything from X’s and O’s to uniforms. The Chiefs sported their all-red look for just the second time in franchise history, and it paid off.
The Chiefs squeak into the top five as a result of their minimalist employment of the color yellow. The yellow trim used on the numbers, pants and socks score big points.
Next: 4. San Diego Chargers
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4. San Diego Chargers
Overall grade: 9.08
Color uniform: 8.25
White uniform: 9.00
Alternate uniform: 10.00
The powder blue alternate jersey the Chargers whip out twice a year lifts their average into the top four of NFL uniforms. It’s only a matter of time until the Chargers set aside their navy blue color jerseys and adopt the powder blues full-time.
Those powder blues are the only perfect 10 that I have given out in this entire ranking. Maybe the Chargers don’t use them as their regular home jersey because they are so good; maybe they want to keep them special, who knows.
An interesting side note about the powder blues: the Chargers almost always wear them at home against the Raiders.
Alright, enough about the powder blues. The Chargers score big with their white jersey, especially when they wear them on top of white pants. San Diego boasts one of the best all-white looks in the league, if not the best.
The navy jerseys are nothing to write home about, mainly because navy doesn’t really suit the San Diego lifestyle. Who wants to wear a dark blue, almost black, shirt on a beach day? Nonetheless, the navy suits the team’s color scheme well, which is why it doesn’t detract too much from the Chargers’ overall grade.
Next: 3. Cleveland Browns
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3. Cleveland Browns
Overall grade: 9.16
Color uniform: 9.00
White uniform: 9.50
Alternate uniform: 9.00
Everyone has their own opinion of the Browns’ uniform changes this offseason, but I for one love them. In case you haven’t seen the full gallery of all nine jersey combinations the team has at their disposal in 2015, click here.
We have yet to see the Browns’ brown jersey in action, as they have worn white-on-white and white-on-brown thus far in preseason. However, the brown jersey that was displayed by Donte Whitner back in the spring when the new duds were revealed look very sharp indeed.
The all-whites that we are accustomed to seeing the Browns wear are awesome. And the brown pants they sported against the Bills on Thursday are much, much better than their previous brown pants.
Incorporating orange into their color scheme more than they did before is working out for the Browns. I’m probably in the minority, but I think the all-orange, orange-on-brown and brown-on-orange jersey combinations are really cool.
One thing we can really look forward to about the 2015 season is seeing these bold uniform combos unveiled in real games. Who knows, maybe a wardrobe makeover will rejuvenate the Browns as a whole and we’ll see these new uniforms in January.
Next: 2. San Francisco 49ers
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2. San Francisco 49ers
Overall grade: 9.50
Color uniform: 9.50
White uniform: 9.50
Alternate uniform: N/A
With the 49ers, it’s all about the history of their namesake. “49ers” refers to the 1849 gold rush, so it only makes sense that gold works naturally into the team’s color scheme. Mix that sunny Californian gold with that crisp red, and you have the second-best uniforms in the NFL.
The 49ers score points for simplicity. Gold doesn’t appear on either of their home or away jerseys; only red and white are featured. However, the pants remain gold wherever they play.
Thankfully, the 49ers have smartened up since the Steve Young era. Back in the 1990s, the 49ers were keen on incorporating black into their color scheme for some weird reason, and they also sported white pants. The team was wise to return to their roots in the 2000s, as no other team can pull-off wearing red and gold.
The 49ers’ overall grade is helped by the absence of alternate or throwback jersey. If they did incorporate an alternate (like a black jersey between the gold helmet and gold pants), their average would surely fall.
They may have seen a bunch of starters on defense depart this offseason, but at least the 49ers have some sweet uniforms. However, they are not the best-looking team in the Bay Area.
Next: 1. Oakland Raiders
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1. Oakland Raiders
Overall grade: 9.75
Color uniform: 9.75
White uniform: 9.75
Alternate uniform: N/A
Like their neighbors in the Bay Area, the Raiders’ overall grade is aided by the lack of an alternate or throwback uniform. The less is more approach that the team has taken since 1963 is simply the best uniform in the NFL.
The color jersey is impeccable. Silver and black is more than just a sleek color combination; it is a way of life for Raiders players, fans and the organization as a whole. When branding transcends the wardrobe, it bodes well in the power ranking of NFL uniforms.
Black is the ultimate football color. Many teams have tried to produce black alternate uniforms, and while some have worked out well, most don’t come anywhere near the originality of the Raiders’ duds.
When the Raiders hit the road, their style doesn’t suffer whatsoever. The black jersey switches shade to white, and the numbers turn from silver to black. The black socks remain.
Admittedly, this writer is biased toward the color silver. When silver mixes naturally with black and white, it’s no contest: the Raiders boast the best NFL uniforms.
If the Raiders ever did decide to tack-on an alternate jersey to their closet, the choice would be easy: an all-silver uniform. The silver jersey would have black numbers, and the socks would stay black. It would be a look that no other team except the Raiders could get away with.