Yesterday, Nike revealed their new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams. Most of the news was about the Seattle Seahawks, the only team to unveil drastic changes to their uniforms. Many Browns fans were either unimpressed by the lack of changes, or unimpressed with the new way Nike is doing things.
However, with Nike’s new 5-year deal with the NFL, there are a ton of benefits that most people are unaware of.
For now, lets forget the flash that Seattle showed and lets focus on the performance benefits that Nike has over Reebok. The New Nike Elite 51 uniform is built off uniforms that have been used in college for a few years. Basically, the Nike Pro Combat uniforms that get so much attention for being flashy and sometimes, flat out disgusting. What most people don’t realize is that the material on these uniforms is state-of-the-art and very lightweight compared to counterparts.
Quick Facts on the New Uni’s:
22% cooler than previous ones.
8% lighter
5% drier
A top layer that is lighter and more flexible.
Besides the uniforms, Nike will be the exclusive equipment provider for the next 5 years. If any of you have played sports before, you know that Nike is the best. It doesn’t matter what sport you play, Nike has the best overall gear for that sport. Sure some other brand may have one better piece of equipment, but Nike is above average-great in everything.
Take it from me, a guy who works for a Div-1 college football program, these uniforms are nothing like what you think of. When off the person and off pads, they look like a Kids-Medium. On Tuesday when these were released, players of all positions and teams praised the performance. Most players were thrilled by the fact that you can’t get held as easy as the old ones.
For years, college has had the upper hand on football gear. This to me doesn’t make sense. Why not give eht best athletes in the world the best gear. Well, now they have.
And of course, Nike will not do anything without flash. By now we have all seen the Seahawks new look. Most hate it, some love it, and almost nobody is in the middle. Kinda like Oregon. It's that hippie-soccer-marijuana mentality of the upper Northwest I guess. *cough* Pete Carroll *cough* I’m sure they will only get crazier.
For the Browns fans freaking out that we will go down that road relax. As you can see, just about every NFL team did not change their look. As for next year, it will be up to the team not Nike on whether or not to change uniforms. Can you see Mike Holmgren wanting crazy Browns uniforms? Me neither. I think we will have some smaller changes like logos on the gloves, but nothing more.
Here is my bold prediction about these new uniforms. MORE SACKS!. A lot more. Like I said earlier, these uniforms have been around college for years. If you pay attention to college talent, you see that there are more top performing defensive lineman than offensive lineman. Ones that are good with their hands outperform others. This is because you cannot hold with these uniforms. If you do, it's so blatant you get flagged. If not, you can get beat much easier. I predict that younger DE’s will see their sacks increase a large amount. Hopefully this is true for Sheard. 
Anyways, I’m excited for Nike’s arrival to the NFL. Their gear is awesome, their simple designs are awesome, and we can all look at Oregon, oops I mean Seattle and their glow in the dark uni’s. And relax, were the Browns. We don’t even have a logo. Nike can’t screw this up.
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