Nike?s first shoe was a rubber molded cleat made for football called ?The Nike.? So, it is no surprise that the Swoosh has become the official sponsor of the NFL. Nike is taking over the reins from Reebok as the official jersey, cleat, and athletic equipment supplier. In New York, Nike unveiled the new look of the NFL, using new technology and taking insight from players of all 32 teams. Nike CEO Mark Parker and Creative Design Director Todd Van Horne were in attendance and explained their thought process and inspiration behind better performance gear in the NFL. The new gear is built with lightweight materials designed specifically for the athletes and designed in three different models: gear for cold weather, hot weather and protection. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed his excitement about the partnership with Nike and unveiled the anticipated NFL jerseys. A majority stayed true to tradition besides the Seattle Seahawks who were looking to start anew moving forward. The Seahawks uniforms featured new font styles and more importantly multiple tributes to the 12th man, CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
After the introduction of the new NFL jerseys, Nike brought out the 32 NFL players that were chosen to help with this project. Superstars such as Larry Fitzgerald, Ben Roethlisberger, Dwayne Bowe, DeAngelo Williams and others were all in attendance. After catching up with the athletes, the consensus was that they enjoyed the final product from Nike. With this being the first year of Nike manufacturing the NFL jerseys, do you think more vibrant designs will surface like the Oregon Ducks’s uniforms or will Nike stay true to the NFL’s tradition?
