The new NFL looks
The 2026 NFL season is almost here, and with it comes the annual group of new uniform combos around the league. From retro revivals to all new looks, the NFL will have some different and fresh designs on the field. And as you all know, these range in quality. I am also here to provide an answer to the big question uniform and design junkies are asking: Do they look good? Let’s find out. First we’ll look at the normal crop of new looks, and later on we’ll look at the Rivalries sets.
Bills “Nickel City” Alternates
When it comes to the ugliest uniforms in NFL history, the Bills may have launched one of the absolute worst. I’d talked about the worst uniforms in NFL history a few years ago on the Uniform Hour, but these take the cake for Buffalo. It’s not inherently the fact that they’re a drab gray, or “nickel” as the press releases want you to believe. It’s more the fact the rest of the colors are muted and the uniform hardly has any detailing whatsoever. The stripes are a darker shade of gray, and the numbers, while colorful, don’t mesh well with the gray background. (Can we also talk about how closely this resemble the St. Louis Battlehawks?)
Pair it with the helmet which has a unique idea but iffy execution, and this is one of the weirdest and honestly worst looks I’ve seen in football. To put it bluntly, it reminds me of a bad alternate from a MAC team that usually remains buried on a random Tuesday night game in November rather than an NFL uniform.
Jets White Helmet
The Jets complete a helmet trifecta introducing a white alternate helmet to go with their primary green and alternate blackout helmet. (The Rivalries helmet remains its own thing.) Overall, this was a solid addition that provides a little bit extra for the helmet game in New York. The home opener will feature a whiteout, and relaxed NFL rules will allow this to be paired with the other primary jerseys the Jets have. Still, despite being a solid addition, these helmets won’t necessarily make waves when we see them on the field for the first time.
Ravens “Next Flight”
Baltimore updated their set this year to clean up some of the things that had been keeping their uniforms looking dated amongst the rest of the NFL. Changes include a new collar, removed drop shadows from the numbers, and a pants stripe inspired by the Maryland state flag. The set is overall simple and effective, similar to how their previous set was. The blackout color rush is a solid addition, but the purple rush lacks contrast and remains a fairly weak uniform that really doesn’t look all that special or amazing. The primary uniforms stay relatively fine, but there weren’t many real eye popping changes.
Titans Redesign
The Titans completely overhauled everything about their look. They stripped the brand right down to the color scheme, logo, and uniforms. None of these changes are truly extraordinary. The color scheme is clearly an homage to the Oilers, attempting to cash in on that nostalgia, while the logo loses the flames and becomes a simple circle. Boring. The uniforms are solid, not really doing too much. The stripes on the blue pants and blue jerseys are still primarily blue, meaning we hardly get to see the guitar strings hidden inside. That stinks, since it’s one of the cooler details in an NFL jersey. However, having pants stripes is a plus and the overall rebrand is decent as a whole.
Commanders Overhaul to Classic Look
Washington’s uniforms and logos as the Commanders have been largely hated by many fans for years. Now, Washington has officially gone back and fixed their mistakes by unveiling uniforms that largely resemble their classic look and honor their history. Overall, I am a huge fan of these. The simple stripes on the main looks and the helmet is exactly what you’d want out of Washington. Not pictured above are the gold pants that are in the rotation, which lead to more good combinations, and the blackout which is a really well put together uniform set that is a perfect example of a blackout.
Falcons New Uniform Set
The Falcons had been trying to make it work with one of the worst looks in the NFL for years, but finally gave their fans a uniform set built off the team’s history while also not being direct throwbacks. They’re overall simple, no sleeve stripes on the jerseys, and the black alternate is just their 1960’s throwback. I like that they have pants stripes and some mild interchangeability with their set, but I find the jerseys boring and the set as a whole kind of dull. It certainly looks better than when they tried to do too much, but they’re a few additions away from being a truly great set among the rest of the NFL.
Rams Refresh
The Rams’ uniforms unveiled in 2020 were one of the most polarizing looks in the NFL. There were a lot of design choices fans didn’t like, but the 2026 refresh fixes a lot of the issues Los Angeles had been having. Extra gradients are no more, and the “bone gray” uniform elements also disappear. The look is now fairly streamlined. The alternates I really don’t have strong opinions one way or another. The yellow jersey features more basic stripes and numbers, and the white alternate lacks gold entirely and features the most basic version of the ram horn sleeves. The alternates aren’t special, but the refresh is great as a whole.
NFL Rivalries 2026 Edition
It’s the second year of the “Rivalries” program, a uniform program that introduces uniforms not too different from that of the NBA’s “City edition” or the MLB’s “City Connect.” Rivalries first season was a relative success for the NFL, now they unveil the AFC South and NFC North versions of Rivalry uniforms. Let’s take a look at how this batch of Rivalry sets look.
Jaguars “Bold City”
Jacksonville’s Rivalries set is designed to showcase the “boldness” of Jacksonville, but ultimately, these uniforms are just somewhat fine. If their idea of boldness is drop shadows on a fancy number font, then sure, they achieved their goal. But realistically, these uniforms aren’t bold, they’re just some alright. I like unique number fonts, and the pants are really solid. There’s a solid stripe and a jaguar print pattern utilized really well hidden in the pants. However, the helmets don’t really match the rest of the uniform aspects, and the uniform is overall just not insanely different from the typical Jaguars uniforms.
Titans “Music City”
Now this is what I like to see out of an NFL Rivalries jersey. The Titans redesign this year didn’t blow my mind away, but this Rivalries set compliments it perfectly. The wordmark reads “Music City” and the number font is somewhat different, but otherwise these are just a navy version of their new primary looks. I really like that, there’s no fancy extras that try to change the brand. This fills that void of navy the new redesign has and I am a huge fan of the baby blue helmet and overall look of this uniform. It’s a really solid look for Tennessee.
Texans “By The H”
The Texans alternate uniform already felt to me like it belonged in the Rivalries category, but the NFL said that they should create this clearly Oilers inspired uniform instead for the program. Oilers nostalgia aside, these uniforms are just whatever. There’s a lack of contrast as every color is bright, and the overall design lacks a ton of excitement or really just anything to write home about. I can understand a lot of the details on display here, like the tiles and number font, but I don’t really find many of these super helpful in making this a truly great uniform.
Colts “Anvil Strike”
I liked these jerseys on my first impression. The general design of these isn’t super different from what the Colts wear normally with the double stripes and relatively simple numbers. However, the blackout look is something the Colts really look sharp in, and the added details in the middle of the stripes are sweet. The blue helmet is a solid choice, but not super wild. Praise aside, the contrast on this isn’t good at all. The stripes and numbers are liable to disappear, and the uniform would be better served by the black alternate helmet currently used on the hated “Indiana Nights” uniform. The potential of these is through the roof, but they may struggle on an NFL field.
Lions “Defend the Den”
This is certainly one Rivalry uniform I am not a fan of at all. Very little of the design translated to Detroit, unless you count the constant “Carbon Fiber” references made in the press release. (Seriously, what is that supposed to even mean?) The shoulder stripes look awkward, and the black numbers on a gray background just don’t look good. The comparison I can make is that it looks like an off-brand Carolina Panthers uniform. I am not looking forward to seeing this debut on the field this NFL season.
Vikings “Nordic”
These Rivalries jerseys don’t really pop out to me at all. The twisted knot pattern is about the only super unique and interesting thing these uniforms have going for them, since they decided to keep with the typical purple the Vikings normally wear as the base color. I find the cross in the shoulder stripes weird, it would’ve looked good if they skipped out on adding that. There aren’t a ton of elements that pop out on this uniform, so while it doesn’t look bad, I don’t find myself excited at all to even think about these.
Packers “Ownership”
The Packers are the only community owned team in the NFL, which was largely the inspiration for these uniforms. I like the look of them as they are a fairly clean and solid design, but I dislike the color scheme and find the balance between white and gold to be off. This white helmet is better than the typical white alternate helmet, but I just find this whole uniform to be solid but not great. This set would look amazing in the actual primary color scheme Green Bay wears, but as it is, it feels washed out and just fine. Still, this falls on the higher end of the Rivalries looks for this year in the NFL.
Bears “Return of the Monsters”
Now these are some solid Bears Rivalry uniforms, taking various parts of their history and meshing them together into a single uniform that suits Chicago well. The navy over orange is a look that hasn’t been done with the Bears before, but it works incredibly well. I don’t really find the sleeve stripes to be all that good, the vertical look sharply cut off just simply isn’t something all too amazing. The orange helmet is a solid one to bring back, and overall, this is just a really solid uniform. If only the sleeve stripes looked better, this one would be perfect.
Now that we’ve taken a look at how the NFL will look, it’s time for the season to start, and with so many different looks it is an exciting time to be an NFL fan. Let us know which look you’re most excited to see in the comments or on our social media, and while you’re there, check out our YouTube and other social media to get everything out of sports, including the only magazine covering exclusively indoor and arena football!
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