The Seattle Seahawks went retro with new uniforms, and it officially ends the debate on who has the best jerseys in the NFL.
The battle might not be official, and it might have nothing to do with what happens on the NFL gridiron, but rest assured that the swag battle over who has the best uniforms is very real. After all, the old adage of, "You look good, you feel good, you do good," has to play a part in player performance.
Forget stats, this is all about the eye test.
The Seattle Seahawks have released "new" jerseys, and they are absolutely incredible. They also released a totally-90s video announcing the jerseys. In a world where every announcement of new jerseys is all about over-the-top cinematics with CGI and dramatic lighting, I appreciate the refreshing nostalgia angle.
Seahawks make throwback jerseys official for 2023 and just won the uniform battle
Good luck convincing me anything even comes close to matching how beautiful these are.
If you come out with a jersey/helmet combo this good, you should start the game up by a touchdown.
As for why it took so long to bring these jerseys back, it's unclear, but I do have a theory.
Since Nike has taken over jersey lines, there have been some limitations on colors, and my speculative but unconfirmed theory is that this jersey was finally brought back into the rotation because the updated color book Nike has in 2023 now finally can replicate the Seahawks blue of the 90s. At least according to an available database of color codes from Team Color Codes, no one was using just "Blue" in their swatches as the Seahawks' throwback blue is. The Panthers recently updated their jerseys to fix the blue that wasn't correct since 2012 when Nike took over.
The official wording, though, is that the new rule allowing teams to have an alternate helmet is what got the wheels turning on the throwback return:
"Players and fans, both old and new, have been clamoring for the classic Seahawks uniforms for years. With the passing of a 2021 resolution allowing teams to wear alternate helmets for the first time, the process began to bring back the iconic silver helmets and royal blue uniforms for the 12s."
Fine, that probably plays a part, too.
Coming off their first year without Russell Wilson since 2012, the Seahawks exceeded expectations and shocked the NFL world with a 9-8 record. Wilson and the Broncos, meanwhile, went 5-12.
Now, they're leveling up again with the jerseys.
When will Seahawks wear throwback uniforms?
It's not yet clear when the Seahawks will wear their "new" throwback uniforms.