If you ask 32 NFL fans what the best uniforms in the sport of football are then we sincerely doubt you will get anything near a consensus answer. So to make things easier we decided to comb through NFL’s history of uniforms in order to find the best of the best. Listed below you’ll find our favorite, and potentially the GREATEST, NFL uniforms of all time.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We’ll kick our list off by paying tribute to the Bucs. It’s been a few years since Tampa Bay has really contended in the NFL but their uniforms are looking as fresh as ever. We love the modernize updates on the logo and the cartoonish look is somehow perfect for the NFL. Now, whether or not Tampa fans will have a sleep problem on Sunday night will come down to the development of QB Jameis Winston, not the uni.
Arizona Cardinals
So long as QB Carson Palmer and Larry FItzgerald don’t have any serious injuries at work on Sunday the Cards will stay fun to watch for a little while yet. We love the classic, elegant, red and white look of the Arizona uniform. The Cardinal’s uniform looks close to the collegiate style but we still think it looks great. There’s just something punchy about the shade of red chosen.
Seattle Seahawks
Facing the Seahawks on a Sunday will prevent even the most ardent coach from falling asleep without sleep medicines. The Seahawks are an elite franchise and their uniforms are just shy of being perfect. We love the neon stripe and popping shoulder blade colors are great. We just wish Marshawn Lynch was still wearing the uniform.
Denver Broncos
Maybe it’s because we grew up with the Broncos being good (Hello Elway and Terrel Davis) but we’ve always associated this uniform with winning. The Broncos’ uniform features a dark blue with a vibrant shade of orange running down the side. This is a classic look that still retains modern sensibilities. Don’t tell any Raider fans or we might have to get some personal injury solicitors involved. Plus, they finally got some new uniforms last season! All orange with its jersey, pants, socks and cleats. They also wore a blue helmet with an orange stripe through the middle and a D horse logo instead of the traditional horse head logo.
Indianapolis Colts
When QB Andrew Luck has his full beard going he looks like a motorcycle injury lawyer. Seriously, that beard though. In any case, Luck looks darn fine in the Colts’ classic jersey. The white pinstripes on dark blue with the elegant horseshoe just scream classic NFL franchise. Besides they might be the only NFL club who never changes their uniforms. And that’s totally okay.
Baltimore Ravens
There is only one franchise that really pulls off purple in their uniform — and it ain’t Minnesota. Baltimore’s uniform is brought to the next level thanks to a gorgeously redesigned helmet logo. This may be a controversial ranking but we don’t care. The Raven logo embodies Baltimore: ugly but fierce, always getting it done.
Detroit Lions
Detroit has been a pretty mediocre franchise for the past five years and that’s an upgrade for the Motor City’s finest. Still, we love their uniforms. The powder blue and silver mock up is eye catching and the lion emblem is both simple and statement-making. It’s just too bad Calvin Johnson never got to wear this uniform to a Super Bowl.
New York Giants
This uniform looks a lot better when you aren’t staring at dopey Eli Manning but the boy got himself a Super Bowl so oh well. We love the G-Men look because it is simple, bold, and iconic. The bold faced NY on the side of the helmet could have come off as lazy but it just works for some reason. Huh, kind of like Eli.
Kansas City
Look at how college football teams are always trying to upgrade their uniforms to stay hip and sell more jerseys. Kansas City does the opposite of that. The Chiefs have kept their uniforms the same seemingly forever. We love the bold all red-white look with a subtle tracing of yellow. Most of all we like the simple arrowhead on the helmets. Look over here Washington, this is how you make a uniform without being disrespectful to its heritage.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Can we give the Steel Curtain bonus points for the Terrible Towel? No, oh well. Pittsburgh cracks the Top 10 thanks to their bold black and gold look. We also like that the Steelers only have their logo on one side of their helmet. Bet you never caught that, did you? This is a simple and fierce look that sums up the Steel City perfectly. And yes, we did just have to show their throwback jerseys cause they look like hysterical bumblebees.
Washington Redskins
Okay, so we threw a little bit of shade at Washington but they still make our list. Washington scores points for having almost blinding gold pants that pair beautifully with the deep burgundy of the rest of the uniform. We have our own opinions of the Redskin logo but we can’t argue that it is striking. As Kirk Cousins would ask, “Do you like that?”
Oakland Raiders
Come on, when your team is known by the colors of their uniform (“Go Silver and Black!”) it has to be pretty good. We love that Oakland, for all of its odd quirks as a franchise, ahs stuck by their traditional uniform. You can trace the Silver and Black all the way back to when the team was first brought into the league. Yeah, this is a classic and punchy look.
New Orleans
New Orleans makes uniforms look cool. While the Saints are essentially the definition of inconsistency, their uniforms have always looked good. The black and gold looks great and we think the black-on-black uniforms are some of the coolest in professional sports. The fleur-de-lis logo is probably one of our favorite choices in the entire NFL. This uniform looks closer to college football than professional football but who cares? It’s a great look and watching Drew Brees rack up 4,500 yards every season while wearing it can be pretty fun too.
Green Bay
Green and yellow shouldn’t work, but it does. We feel almost obliged to include Green Bay on this list due to their importance in the history of the NFL. Still, even if the Packers were Browns-level bad we would still be innately drawn to these uniforms. Sure, it helps having guys like Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers making the uniforms even more popular.
Chicago Bears
Navy blue and orange goes together like Coach Ditka and a dominant defense. The Chicago Bears have a bold, powerful, and iconic uniform. It’s just too bad that the team has been awful since essentially 2008. At least we have Jay Cutler? Yikes. While Chicago may not be good any time soon, their uniform will go down as an all time great.
San Francisco 49ers
Man, so our final three spots could be considered a ranking of dynasties. Still, San Francisco comes in at a strong third thanks to their vintage look. The 49ers have potentially the most recognizable look in NFL history but that may be in part due to the icons who wore it (Lookin’ at you, Jerry).
New England Patriots
We are fully ready to admit that recency bias may have us ranking the Patriots uniform too high. Still, is a decade of excellence still considered ‘recent’? Everytime you see the Patriots uniform you know you are about to see a dominating team. A cool logo, a winning color pattern, and a dynasty level of excellence gets the Patriots to #2 on our list.
Dallas Cowboys
You can hate us all you want. The Dallas Cowboys, before New England, are the most recent high profile dynasty in the NFL. There is something to be said about the simple confidence of the Dallas uniform. The gigantic blue star on a simple field of gray says it all: we’re here, we’re bold, we’re ready to beat you.