April 3rd....be scared. Very scared.

Well, some minor news that most people arent really aware of, that may turn out to be nothing...or it may cause a bitchfest of epic proportions...hard to say:

On April 3rd, the contract between the NFL and Reebook is officially over, and Nike takes the helm and will be releasing the NEW jersey designs for the NFL in 2012.

Here's an article about it.

Now...for starters, Nike has been quoted as saying they are going to "drastically change" the NFL uniform. That, combined with some fake online photoshops had caused a minor panic along the lines "OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE UGLY THINGS?!?!?!? NOOOOOOO *insert Darth Vader*

Here is the Bears fake photoshop: (ye been warned):


Also, to get an idea of where Nike's head is at when it comes to football, just look at College Football, where Nike has contracts with quite a few number of teams, including CEO Phil Knight's alma mater: Oregon:



Of course, the NFL is quick to smack down any rumors like these, implying that the implied "Drastic changes" are in reference to HOW the jerseys are made, the materials, etc and NOT the designs themselves. But, it would be foolish to think Nike wont put their own rubber stamp in the NFL uniform, and do it beyond merely in the material department.

I now shall group the NFL teams into 3 categories: Historic, Middle Ground, Gawd Awful:

Historic: Bears, Packers, Browns, Steelers, Colts, Cowboys, Redskins, Jets, Chiefs, Raiders, 49ers
-this group represents the Historic NFL franchises, both visually as well as athletically, and their uniforms have never changed much in DECADES. Most have the same styles going back to the 1960's or before. I wouldnt expect Nike to DARE to touch these designs with a 10-foot pole.

Middle Ground: Ravens, Lions, Saints, Buccs, Texans, Eagles, Giants, Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Chargers, Rams
-this group represents teams who simply can not make up their mind, they usually change their logos/color schemes/uniforms every decade or less even. Some may end up with new designs (Lions seem like good candidates to go with their dumb new logo), and others may abstain because they somehow wrongly believe THEIR design is a "classic" (im looking at YOU, Patriots). Probably be a mixed bag of new designs and old ones.

Gawd Awful: Bengals, Vikings, Falcons, Panthers, Jaguars, Titans, Broncos, Cardinals, Seahawks
-this group....their current designs or so horrible, i actually HOPE Nike comes out with a new design for them all, since they obviously cant do it themselves. Might be a large portion of these with new designs (especially the Panthers who have a new logo this year).

But then again...this could all be bunk, and every uniform will look the same in 2012, just with a new nike Swoosh. Who knows? Guess we shall have to wait til April 3rd to find out. Keep your fingers crossed that the bears unis are unchanged.