The Nikefication of the NFL has a handful of clear exceptions. One has been the Chiefs.
But for a 2009 game against the Cowboys in which the Chiefs resurrected their Dallas Texans uniforms from the years the two AFL and NFL teams shared a market (which happened before Nike took over the apparel contract), the Chiefs have shunned the proliferation of helmets and jerseys and alternate whatnot.
Via ArrowheadPride.com, Chiefs president Mark Donovan made it clear on Friday that it won’t be easy to convince owner Clark Hunt to deviate from the team’s traditional uniform.
“I think [it’s] a high bar that’s going to have to be crossed to actually get it done, but it’s definitely [a] conversation,” Donovan said. “I get helmet designs monthly.”
Still, Hunt might gradually be warming up to the possibility of an alternate look.
“I think the second or third year, I brought it up, and it was a swift, ‘No,’” Donovan said, “so I sort of tabled it. We brought it up again three years ago, and it wasn’t such a swift, ‘No.’ It was like, ‘OK, we can probably talk about it.’”
Two years ago, Donovan said the team was having an “open discussion” about possible alternate uniforms.
“I think we’re the only team or among a small group that has never changed uniforms more than a little bit on the stripe or something like that,” Donovan said in July 2022. “That’s important to us too.”
It should be. Alternate uniforms are nothing more than a money grab, a short-term effort to generate excitement for teams that can’t do it on the field. The Chiefs are in the middle of a dynasty. They don’t need gimmicks. They’ve got the jewelry.
Sure, the latest ring might have a typo. That still looks a lot better than the latest abominations from Nike.
Sorry Nike, but it’s true. Most of the designs you’re pushing on teams look like crap. So, yes, get off my lawn. And out of my stadium. And away from my sport.
