New York Jets Unveil New Uniforms, But They Look a Lot Like Old Uniforms

Yes, the New York Jets have new uniforms.

Whenever a team is sick and tired of their old image, and their old uniforms, a big production is made of creating all new uniforms. Often, this is supposed to represent the equivalent of the "brand new year, brand new me" approach that many people take for New Year's Day, and which usually does not last beyond that one day.

There are, however, some exceptions. Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos rather dramatically changed their uniforms in 1997, and both of them did indeed get new results. For Tampa Bay, the franchise had their first winning record in the better part of two decades, qualified for the postseason, and actually won a game once there, as well. It was the beginning of a longer term of actual relevance in the NFL for them, as the team would win the division title and reach the NFC Championship Game in 1999, and then, they would enjoy their most successful season ever in 2002, finishing 12-4 (a franchise best) and taking their first (and so far only) Super Bowl championship at the end of that season.

For Denver, the results were more immediate. The Broncos switched from their trademark orange jerseys to dark blue home jerseys, and would remain undefeated while wearing those blue jerseys for the first couple of seasons. They reverted back to orange jerseys some years later, which makes sense to me, but they kept the dark blue helmets and new logos, which also makes sense to me. More importantly, they won their first ever Super Bowl in 1997, and they followed that up with a 13-0 start in 1998, ultimately winning their second Super Bowl in a row. 

That's how you do uniform changes, ideally.

The New York Jets changed their uniforms back to an older style in 1998, and they also enjoyed new results, finishing the season at 12-4 and winning the division title, then going to the AFC Championship and taking a 10-0 lead at Denver, before falling. The New York Giants also changed their uniforms back to an older style in 2000, and also went 12-4, and reached the Super Bowl, before being completely pummeled by the Baltimore Ravens once there. Those, also, were some positive results from uniform changes.

The Houston Oilers skipped out of town and eventually relocated to Tennessee in 1996, although they initially kept the Oilers name and uniforms. But in 1999, they changed their names to the Titans, and changed their uniforms, too. They went 13-3, and reached their first, and only, Super Bowl, barely losing to the  then St. Louis Rams in a dramatic finish. They recently changed their uniforms again, an unfortunate change from white helmets and powder blue uniforms, to standard dark blue helmets and uniforms in order to look like half of the other teams in the league, although it is unclear how the results will be, as they have only had one season under their belt with their new look. 

Sometimes, the new uniform changes do not bring radically new results, however. In 1990, the Atlanta Falcons drastically changed their uniforms from predominately red to black and silver. They did go 10-6 in 1991, but they largely remained in the background otherwise for years. The New England Patriots followed suit with a dramatic uniform change in 1993, which saw the beginning of the now familiar new logo (instead of "Pat the Patriots"), and the team did get some new results. They made the playoffs in 1994, and reached the Super Bowl in 1996, although they lost. They kept tinkering with their uniforms, before settling with their current uniforms by 2001, when their current dynasty level of success began with their first Super Bowl title. 

After going 0-16, the Detroit Lions changed their uniforms in 2009, but although they would reach the playoffs a few years later, they have not won a playoff game since. Cleveland also changed their uniforms after going 0-16 a few seasons back, and it remains to be seen whether or not this ushered in some truly new results, although they sure seem to have a lot of talent on that team now, particularly on offense. Like the other New York NFL teams, the Buffalo Bills reverted back to an older version of their uniforms after changing from their Super Bowl-era uniforms to these weird, frankly ugly uniforms in 2003. They changed back to older style uniforms in 2010, and although they did make the playoffs in 2017, they have not really gotten great results all in all. The San Francisco 49ers also changed back to older style uniforms in 2011, and this was the beginning of strong success for that team, as they became one of the elite franchises again, reaching the NFC title game three straight seasons, and going to the Super Bowl once, before falling to Baltimore once there. 

Many teams have changed their uniforms in the NFL, with mixed results. For the Seattle Seahawks, both major uniform changes yielded Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl championship, not too long after the uniform changes. But for other teams, like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minnesota Vikings, the Arizona Cardinals, the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Miami Dolphins, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (again) all changed their uniforms, but this did not necessarily lead to lasting success or new results, at least not automatically. 

So, the Jets have changed their uniforms again. They look somewhat similar to how they looked in the 1990's, although the logo is a bit different. The JETS on the helmet looks a bit different, as they kept the older version from the Namath Super Bowl era. It is a cool new look.

But will cool new results also be in the offering? Let's hope so.