Lions unveil modern classic uniforms, plus black alternate with overhauled helmet design

Allen Park — In football terms, it's not a rebuild. It's more of a retooling.

Several hours after the Detroit Lions' new jerseys prematurely leaked online Thursday morning, the team unveiled the full uniforms at an evening event for season-ticket holders at Ford Field, focusing on a series of subtle improvements to their most recent ensemble by reaching into the past for inspiration. 

The program lasted a little longer than a half-hour and involved opening comments from owner Sheila Hamp and coach Dan Campbell, a series of video packages, current players modeling the new uniforms and franchise legends Barry Sanders and Chris Spielman sharing their thoughts with the more than 5,000 fans in attendance.

Influenced by Ford Motor Company's relaunching of the Bronco in 2021 as a modernized classic, and borrowing heavily from the Lions' early 1990s look, the points of emphasis with the uniform updates include tweaks to the presentation of the team's color scheme, a reworking of the number font, sharpening the contrast of the numbers and nameplates, and streamlining the overall appearance, including cleaner striping on the sleeves. 

The more drastic changes were reserved for the team's alternates. The all-gray "Color Rush'' uniforms are out, replaced by a black jersey and pants combo, which will be paired with the blue helmets the team released a year earlier. 

Notably, those helmets are also getting an overhaul, with the retro logo utilized in 2023 being swapped for a black version of the team's leaping lion logo, along with black striping and a black facemask. 

For many fans, the black uniforms bring back memories of a bad era of Lions football, but it's also a time period when Campbell played for the team. At the unveiling, team president Rod Wood revealed Campbell expressed interest in bringing back the black uniforms, which were popular with the players when the color was utilized from 2005-07.

Wood said he told Campbell the team would bring them back when the Lions won a division title, and even though the timing of the new uniforms and the team's first NFC North crown in three decades ended up being coincidental, it's exactly how things played out.

At the Ford Field event for the reveal, the fans in attendance seemed to be coming around on the look.

"We saw the leaks this morning, and had heard the rumors there'd be a black one," Garrett Schafer of Detroit said. "You know, a lot of teams do them, so (we thought) it wouldn't be that cool. But the new helmets make it pop."

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the changes and the process that led to them.

'So clean and so good'

NFL teams are permitted to change their uniforms once every five years. It's been seven for the Lions, who unveiled their previous look ahead of the 2017 season. The window for changes opened around the time the team was undergoing an ownership transition and an overhaul of its football leadership, centered around the hires of general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell. Establishing a culture and identity was more urgent than updating appearances. 

But even though the team waited a little longer than required, the process for Thursday's reveal was initiated during the 2022 offseason. 

Everything starts with an NFL-required, three-page questionnaire, which establishes how much work the team, league and uniform provider Nike had ahead of them. For example, changing the logo adds layers of complexity, including new trademarks. The Lions opted not to stick with their current logo, which debuted in 2008 and was tweaked with the removal of its black outline in 2017. 

"When we look at the logo, to me, it's in the best place it's been in the history of the team," Lions chief communication and brand officer Brian Facchini said. "Bubbles (nickname for Detroit's previous, more-rounded logo) has some nostalgia, the black was interesting, but we're at a point where this is so clean and so good. We're not touching that."

The Lions also had no desire to overhaul their primary color scheme, but they did want to better define it, visually. That started with the franchise's iconic Honolulu blue, which was established by former owner George Richards when he brought the team from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit in 1934. 

The blue has never changed, according to the team, retaining the same pantone number through the decades. But the way color applies to different fabrics has resulted in shading inconsistencies, especially with different companies manufacturing the jerseys over the years. The Lions worked closely with current uniform provider Nike to get the blue to match the team's vision, again harking back to those 90s uniforms. 

Nearly indiscernible at first glance, the change becomes more apparent when a new jersey is placed next to the previous version. The updated blue is richer and more vibrant than the one it's replacing, almost as if it's being presented in high definition. 

Beyond the blue, the Lions expressed a desire to Nike's design team to bring silver back to their color scheme after drifting more toward gray in their recent uniform incarnations. While the helmets have maintained a metallic look, the new uniforms do a better job incorporating silver on the sleeve stripes and trim around the numbers. 

The team's gray pants also are being updated to be closer to silver, although they will lack the sheen of some of the franchise's earlier looks because of limitations with the fabric Nike utilizes. The new, silver pants will be the same worn by the University of Georgia. 

In total, the Lions will have five pairs of pants — white, blue, black, silver and silver with stripes — increasing flexibility with potential combinations. That includes a secondary combination of blue pants with the black, alternate jersey. 

There are also small changes coming to Detroit's helmets. The striping down the middle now will include white accents, as opposed to gray. But the biggest alteration will be another throwback to those 90s teams with the return of a blue facemask. 

A nod to the 90s

What is it about those 1990s uniforms? Facchini believes the look is fondly remembered because it was the last time the team had sustained success, with franchise icons Sanders, Spielman, Lomas Brown and Herman Moore leading the way. 

In addition to trying to match the blues, the team is updating its number font — which has regularly drawn criticism for being difficult to read from a distance — for a blocky, chunkier font that's similar to what Sanders wore during his career. 

And with the team's home blue jerseys, the gray numbers are being replaced by white digits with a silver outline. Similarly, the gray nameplates on the back of those jerseys also be will white. Beyond being easier to read, the starker contrast adds a visual pop. 

With the sleeve striping, the Lions listened to focus group feedback and dumped previously incorporated wording for a simplified look that's closer to the ‘90s uniforms. 

"We thought as sleeves continue to shrink, there's less and less room," Facchini said. "We felt going back to a cleaner look, like back in the day, was the right way to go."

Facchini said criticism of uniform embellishments was a frequent topic with those focus groups, which included the continued presence of late owner William Clay Ford's initials on the left sleeve. That feature replaced a patch on the shoulder in 2017. 

Visible references to Ford, father of Hamp, are being removed from the jerseys, but he will continue to be honored in two ways with the new uniforms. First, there will be a small "WCF" sticker on the back of the helmets, similar to those utilized by the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders that pay tribute to their former owners.

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

Additionally, a patch will be sewn inside official game jerseys, which include Ford's signature. This will not be included in any of the versions sold directly to fans. 

"Mr. Ford was always really well-dressed, sharply dressed," Facchini said. "This was inspired by a custom suit label. … It's just a classy way to remember him. And having it live inside the jersey gives it a different feel."

Another inside-only jersey embellishment will be wording sewn into the collar of the three jerseys. The home blue will include the team's "One Pride" slogan, while the road whites will have "313," Detroit's area code. The black alternates will be stitched with Detroit's "Motor City" nickname. 

In terms of exterior embellishments, the team will introduce wording on the chest plate on both the away (white) and alternate jerseys. It will appear above the numbers and mirror the appearance of many of the league's teams. The white jersey will have "Detroit" stitched across the top in blue lettering, while the black alternates will read "Lions," also in blue. 

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who modeled the white jersey at the Ford Field unveiling, said the "Detroit" on the chest was his favorite component of the redesign.

"I like that we're carrying Detroit with us on the road," McNeill said. "... It's like Detroit vs. Everybody. It's like us taking that on the road now."

One thing that will go nearly untouched is the team's second alternate, throwback jerseys. The only updates to those will be slight adjustments to the colors, which should largely be unnoticeable. The team has found fans love the retro uniforms, and that sentiment is shared within the organization. 

Earlier this month, the league announced teams would have the option to add a third helmet to their uniform package. But because the Lions are sticking with their retro combination as one of their two, permitted alternates, and a third helmet can only be paired with an alternate jersey, an addition wouldn't be practical.

It's worth notice, a recent adjustment to the league's policy allows for individual uniforms to be changed once every five seasons, as opposed to the entire package being tied to those timing restrictions. That means the Lions could opt to change their second alternate and add a third helmet as soon as next year, although the popularity of the throwback look makes that change unlikely in the near future.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers