The Jets unveiled their new uniforms at a Thursday event at Gotham Hall in "front of 500 people," marking the first time the team has "changed their uniforms" since '98, according to Brian Costello of the N.Y. POST. The Jets had three new looks to display, with "fancy names for the colors -- Gotham Green, Spotlight White and Stealth Black." The team also "went back to green helmets, which they have not worn" since the '90s, with "Jets" on the side and a football underneath. Jets Chair & CEO Christopher Johnson said that it was "important for 'New York' to have a prominent place on the uniform." He said, "This is my town. I love this town. ... I wanted these jerseys to celebrate that." A photo of the uniforms leaked Wednesday, and Johnson said that the team is "unsure how the leak happened" (N.Y. POST, 4/5). USA TODAY's Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz noted the uniform combination includes "jerseys for each color, with one horizontal stripe across the shoulders and 'New York' written above the numbers on the front." Both the green and white jerseys include "options for green and white pants, while the black tops are to be worn with black bottoms" (USATODAY.com, 4/4). In N.Y., Pat Leonard writes the black jersey "by far was the biggest hit, all the way up to ownership." Johnson said, "It kicks ass" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/5).
GRADING THE LOOK: SI.com's Paul Lukas wrote the new color scheme gets a B+ grade, while the new logo gets an A. The new shade of green "looks great, and the number font is fine." Lukas: "But ugh, those stripes, or wings, or contrails, or whatever they are -- not a great look." It feels like the Jets "swooped in and salvaged the now-defunct AAF's uniforms off the scrapheap." The combination of "green jersey, the chest lettering, the black outlining on the numbers feels a lot like Marshall and North Texas." The new primary jerseys were given a C+, while the black alternates, "clearly the low point of the new uni set," were given a D (SI.com, 4/4). FS1's Nick Wright said, "Everyone always instantly hates everything that's new. So of course Twitter hated this, they made fun of it. The jerseys are fine." FS1's Cris Carter said a black jersey is "hard to pull off," but he noted when a team can "insert that in there, it gives you an opportunity to merchandise" ("First Things First," FS1, 4/5). NFL Network's Nate Burleson said the Jets "always have to do a little bit more" to make waves in the N.Y. market "even though they're the best team in the city" ("Good Morning Football," NFL Network, 4/5).
LATEST NIKE REDESIGN: The AP's Dennis Waszak Jr. notes at least 10 NFL teams have "tweaked their looks ... or redesigned their uniforms" since Nike became the league's apparel sponsor in '12. There had been "some early internal discussion in the Jets organization about making an extensive change to the team logo," but the team instead "decided on a refresh rather than an overhaul" (AP, 4/5). NBCSN's Mike Florio said, "I've seen worse from Nike since they took over the apparel deal." NBCSN's Peter King said he "kind of liked the helmets," though he typically does not get "too excited about uniforms" ("PFT," NBCSN, 4/5).
JETS MAY HAVE COMPANY: In Chicago, Patrick Finley notes the Bears will "unveil a fourth jersey -- something the team is deeming a 'new classic' -- to celebrate their 100th season this year." The jersey "figures to be a throwback to their early days," and will be unveiled June 7 at the opening ceremony of the "Bears 100" convention (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/5).
NEW JETS UNIFORMS
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