In what is likely the biggest uniform announcement since the introduction of Color Rush a decade ago, the NFL will introduce new uniforms beginning in the 2025 season that will be inspired by the local communities of the NFL teams.
The concept, dubbed the “Rivalries” program by the NFL and apparel sponsor Nike, will be similar to what Major League Baseball and the NBA have done in recent years. The NFL announced this new concept, which will roll out over a four-year span, during the second round of Friday night’s NFL Draft.
“The NFL is home to some of the biggest rivalries in football,” Renie Anderson, the NFL’s EVP and chief revenue officer, told CBS Sports on Friday ahead of the announcement. “We decided to team up with Nike to allow fans and players to connect like never before with the Rivalries program because nothing brings communities together quite like a good rivalry. We know our fans and players are excited for games with their club’s biggest rivals and wanted to make these even bigger. And we know our fans (especially our younger fans) and players get excited when their clubs wear unique and or special uniforms.
Visuals of the jerseys are not yet available, though they are expected to be unveiled at some point in the summer ahead of the 2025 season. The first batch of teams to get these jerseys will hail from the AFC East and NFC West: the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams and 49ers will have “Rivalries” jerseys in 2025.
In 2026, the AFC South and NFC North will debut their threads. The NFC East and AFC West will follow in 2027, and the AFC North and NFC South will round it out in 2028.
Here’s how it will work: Each team will be required to wear the jerseys for one home game against a divisional rival each year over a three-year period. Teams can choose to wear the jersey each year against the same divisional rival or across the division. And because the jerseys must be worn in home games, there wouldn’t be a game featuring both teams wearing the jerseys.
“The four-year rollout was designed to build the program out over time and highlight the unique rivalries individually, rather than doing it all at once. This will also build anticipation over time,” Anderson said.
The current alternates, including throwback uniforms, can and will remain in each team’s rotation. Earlier this month, the NFL expanded the use of alternate and throwback outfits for up to four times in the regular season.
Nike and the NBA introduced the concept of City Edition jerseys in the 2017-18 season. Opinions have varied on the jerseys over the years, but the concept has been successful enough to continue for the better part of a decade.
In 2021, Major League Baseball and Nike announced a similar concept with the City Connect jerseys. That launch also did about a quarter of the league each year, reaching 28 of the 30 teams by the fourth season. Only the Athletics (a team with no city) and the Yankees (tradition) don’t have these alternate jerseys.
With the NFL having a four-year rollout with “Rivalries,” and because teams will wear the uniforms for three years, the uniform program will continue through at least the 2030 season.
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