DETROIT, Mich. — Inside the war room during the NFL draft in 2021, new Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell asked team president Rod Wood when the black uniforms would return.
“When you win the division,” Wood responded.
Fresh off their first division title in three decades, the Lions will be back in black this season as an alternate uniform.
After falling one game shy of making their first Super Bowl appearance in 2023, the Lions will tap into their past with the infamous black uniforms now making their return.
The Lions officially unveiled the new look during an exclusive event for season-ticket holders on Thursday at Ford Field.
“It’s a new attitude. It’s a new style and it’s our style,” Campbell said. “So, with that, the jerseys come out with it.”
In 1948, Detroit introduced a new black uniform then brought it back in 2005 as an alternate jersey, featuring Honolulu Blue numbers with silver and white trim but shied away from the on-field look completely after 2007.
The new black jerseys can be paired with either black pants or the team’s blue pants, while the blue numbers feature a silver outline with “LIONS” across the chest.
The alternate matte blue helmets will now feature a black leaping Lions logo trimmed in silver.
All I’ve gotta say is I’m going to start a petition so we can wear these bad boys for every home game,” said Lions great Calvin Johnson before cheers during the event. “It’s beautiful. This goes back to the Reeboks we wore back in the day. They’re bringing back the block numbers with a new fresh modern style.”
The Lions’ original plan was to roll out the jerseys during the exclusive presentation, but the jerseys were leaked online early Thursday in a now-deleted ad post.
The organization playfully responded to the news through a prerecorded video on X — formerly known as Twitter — that featured defensive tackle Alim McNeill.
Leave a Reply