For the most part football fans don’t notice NFL uniforms unless they’re bad. This is a testament to how conditioned we’ve gotten to good aesthetics on the gridiron.
The advent of Color Rush kits, a brilliant ploy from league executives to distract fans from garbage matchups on Thursday nights with even worse clothing, has pressed this issue a bit in recent years. That, on top of rebranding pitches and of-the-time redesigns mean some teams have turned away from their best looks on Sunday.
But what are those best looks? Well, that’s a subjective question with a bunch of different answers. Some teams found their groove in the 1960s and it worked so well they’ve done nothing but slight variations since. Others have gone through sartorial teardowns, occasionally tossing away perfectly good designs to chase trends (hello, Atlanta Falcons). But almost every team has one uniform that rises above the fray as the franchise’s best.
Here’s where I landed for all 32 teams.
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Arizona Cardinals: 1996-2004 away white uniforms
The early years of the team’s relocation to Arizona introduced a state flag graphic on the sleeve that was too big and busy, especially next to the team logo.
These jerseys simplified that for a cleaner look and, paired with the white pants with dual vertical red stripes, combined to make a strong look.
Atlanta Falcons: 1966-1970 home black uniforms
Red helmets, black jerseys, white pants. The Falcons knew enough to make this their throwback choice in 2012 — then adopted it again in 2023 once rules regarding helmet use were relaxed.
Baltimore Ravens: 1997-present white road uniforms
Fundamentally different than the Vikings’ uniforms — in part because a very 90s font choice has withstood the test of time. The purple jerseys are solid, but a white top and purple pants works so much better here than it should.
Buffalo Bills: 2011-present blue home uniforms
Buffalo ditched an awful 2000s redesign to get back to its glory days in the 2010s. One key factor separates this set from the similarly great Andre Reed kits; the white helmet.
Carolina Panthers: 2002-present white home uniforms
There isn’t much to choose from here; do you like black jerseys, white or blue? Ultimately they’re all fine. The alternates have a little more life to them, but hooo buddy that’s a lot of teal.
Chicago Bears: 1973-present white road uniforms
Or the navy home uniforms. Honestly they’re both great; an old school look for a storied franchise that works in lock step with the fine wine of a helmet logo above it.
Cincinnati Bengals: 1981-1996 black home uniforms
Cincinnati was able to make tiger print look good (and sure, a little tacky in the best way) with a just-about-perfect helmet-shoulder stripe-leg stripe combination. As a result, they took back black and orange from Halloween.
Cleveland Browns: 1999-2014 brown home uniforms
This mess of a color scheme worked with both white and orange pants, somehow. Simplicity was key, as were the bigger, more powerful sleeve stripes that arrived after the franchise’s rebirth.
Dallas Cowboys: 1974-present white road uniforms
As you’ll see, using silver as a primary uniform color is a cheat code for many teams. The Cowboys arguably pull it off better than anyone, contrasting it with snappy blue, simple shoulder stripes and an iconic star.
Denver Broncos: 1967-1996 orange home uniforms
The Orange Crush unis ensured this team looked great even when awful and is vastly superior to the Reebok-looking rebrand the team’s been stuck with ever since. Honorable mention goes to their 1965-1966 home kits, which are somehow hideous and wonderful at the same time — especially with the child’s sketch of a broken horse on the helmet.
Detroit Lions: 1984-1998 blue home uniforms
The Lions have always looked pretty good despite their results on the field. You can land on any given year and find a good uniform, but this blend of old-school block numbers, silver pants and, notably, a bold but not overpowering sleeve stripe (the one that followed was too big) is the most pleasing.
Green Bay Packers: 1961-present green home uniforms
Instantly recognizable and perfectly balanced. The Packers are old school chic in pretty much any yellow-green-white combination.
Houston Texans: 2002-present navy home uniforms
Completely fine and basically unchanged over two-plus decades of existence. Houston is avoiding the risk of extra shame through rebranding and that makes sense, honestly.
Indianapolis Colts: 1988-present blue home uniforms
Indianapolis nailed this one off the bat and has no need to change it up — there were some silver pants in the 80s, but that’s about it. Those shoulder stripes? (chef’s kiss)
Jacksonville Jaguars: 1995-2007 teal home uniforms
A little busy, sure — there’s teal, white, black and gold involved — but there’s a gentle balance that makes this very 1990s design a little more timeless than its comtemporaries. And Mark Brunell looked great in it.
Kansas City Chiefs: 1969-present white road uniforms
There’s not much to choose from here, because the Chiefs don’t dabble in frivolous redesigns. There’s a reason for that; these uniforms work.
Las Vegas Raiders: white road uniforms
You don’t need a date. The home town changes, but the uniforms rarely do. The black and silver simplicity just works, and the black of the uniform numbers pop without needing drop shadows or any other design elements.
Los Angeles Chargers: 1966-1973, 2002-present powder blue home uniforms
Best uniforms currently in the game. Reintroducing numbers to the helmets only made them better.
Los Angeles Rams: 1973-1999 white road uniforms
The kits that ushered in the greatest show on turf were a wonderful blend of primary colors. Toss these in a blender and you’d get a perfect green. As is, the ram’s horn shoulder sleeve/number combination fit the theme without looking too busy and the helmet logo is gonna be a staple until football is outlawed.
Miami Dolphins: 1980s white road uniforms
They gave Dan Marino teal and he looked great in it — all because it was balanced off with plenty of neutral white and perfect orange outlines. The Dolphins uniforms convey the tropic-adjacent nature of Miami without being gaudy or obnoxious. Which, upon review, is very un-Miami.
Minnesota Vikings: 1961-1995 purple home uniforms
The Purple People Eater kits were perfectly balanced beneath a great helmet logo. Plenty of purple but never overpowering, with a crisp white balance and just enough gold to make everything pop. The team liked it so much it went back to the design, albeit with new fonts, in 2013.
The away whites, with big yellow shoulder rings, looked pretty slick too.
New England Patriots: 1982-1994 red home uniforms
Arguably the best looking uniforms on this list. They were mostly wasted on a bad team that somehow made it to a Super Bowl only to get starched 46-10 by the Bears. But hey, at least Tony Eason looked good while collapsing in upon himself like a dying star.
New Orleans Saints: 2016-present alternate gold number uniforms
The white jersey and gold pants wouldn’t work without a dominant black highlight to make everything shine a bit brighter by contrast. But then these alternates pushed it further with gold numbers and … it works! Everything here is sleek enough to make everyone look a little better (and Taysom Hill like a bonafide quarterback. Sometimes).
New York Giants: 1981-1999 blue home uniforms
Picture Lawrence Taylor in your mind. This is the uniform he’s wearing. It’s simple and clean and has just enough red in the leg stripe and sleeve rings to stand out.
New York Jets: 1963-1977 white road uniforms
The simple logo and clean white-with-green helmets set the tone for this whole kit. But the shoulder stripe AND green sleeve really set this one off, even at the risk of being too busy.
Philadelphia Eagles: 1980s-2003 kelly green home uniforms
The Eagles embraced an Emerald Isle shade of green that’s set to make a comeback for the 2023 season. Silver pants with a very 80s vertical stripe down the leg into a horizontal stripe across the calf only made it all look better. It looked great with white jerseys on the road, too.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 1997-2011 white road uniforms
Take your pick of years, because Pittsburgh’s uniforms pretty much never change. Why would they? They’re immediately recognizable and so clean and simple that the University of Iowa borrowed the entire layout (with permission).
San Francisco 49ers: 1963-1993 red home uniforms
The Niners have worn a lot of great uniforms over their history. Even their Color Rush all-blacks turned out OK! But it’s tough to beat the jerseys Joe Montana wore to four Super Bowl wins — especially considering the franchise liked it so much that its current uniforms are a subtle update.
Seattle Seahawks: 1983-1990 home blue uniforms
The uniforms that made Steve Largent look incredible. Seattle’s 1980s away lineup was great as well, but the dominant blue jerseys meshed well with silver pants and white numbers were an easy complement to both. Throw in a perfectly utilized green accent and you’ve got a throwback that needs to make regular appearances in the 2020s.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1976-1996 creamsicle home uniforms
So gaudy they became beautiful, these kits blast you with light orange up top. It’s the pants where things really come together though; a perfect double-lined stripe down the hip that hits a perpendicular sock stripe for a uniform that’s a lot to take in. In a good way. Add in Buccaneer Bruce and his dagger on the helmet, and you’ve got an iconic look (albeit for an awful team, at the time).
Tennessee Titans: 1975-1980 blue away uniforms
The Titans uniforms have perpetually been a product of their late-90s relocation. They stand out in no notable way. These powder blue slices of perfection left behind in Houston, however? Wonderful. Of course, what else would you expect from a team coached by Bum Phillips?
Washington Commanders: 1991-2007 white topped away uniforms
Here’s the tricky thing; Washington had some very good uniforms in its history, but its team name was a slur thoughout the bulk of it. So kudos for making a franchise with hot dog colors look good, at least.
So: Here’s a photo of legendary coach Joe Gibbs.
