Detroit Lions playfully embrace leak of new jerseys hours before official unveiling

Allen Park — Thanks to a premature leak of a Fanatics advertisement through the USA Today Network, it appears the Detroit Lions new jerseys have leaked hours before the team's official unveiling at an event for season-ticket holders at Ford Field Thursday evening.

The advertisement has since been removed. A team spokesman declined to comment on whether the leaked images were accurate representations of the team's new jerseys, but the Lions posted a prerecorded video on social media featuring defensive tackle Alim McNeill joking about the leak while wearing what appeared to be the blue version of the jersey from the Fanatics advertisement. 

For what it's worth, the images did mesh with recent comments from team president Rod Wood, who said the new look would be a modern twist of the current look, while paying homage to the team's past.

The biggest changes, at first glance, are alterations to the numbers and sleeve striping. The number font is more blocky, similar to what the team sported in the 1980s and 90s. Specifically with the blue jersey, the gray font is now white with a silver outline, also like the 90s uniforms.

More:A brief history of Detroit Lions uniforms ahead of Thursday's unveiling of updated look

With the sleeves, the "Lions" and "WCF" wording, the latter honoring former, late owner William Clay Ford, have been removed for a cleaner overall look to the striping details.

An even bigger change, if the leaked images are accurate, is the potential return of a black, alternate jersey to the team's lineup for the first time since 2017.

The team's official unveiling of the full uniforms is scheduled to take place between 7-8 p.m. Thursday night.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers