First look: Nike unveils new NFL uniforms

NEW YORK — The NFL and Nike unveiled the next generation of uniforms for all 32 teams at a glitzy launch event at Brooklyn Navy Yard.

PHOTOS:  Nike's new NFL uniforms

Don't look for any of the crazy uniforms designed by Nike for college football teams such as the Oregon Ducks. The Nike Elite 51 unis are more evolutionary than revolutionary, focusing on lighter fabrics, a more contoured fit and four-way stretch materials rather than big changes in the visual, graphic look. Plus, the NFL's conservative team owners had final say under guidelines set by the league.

The Seattle Seahawks are getting the biggest fashion makeover, with darker-colored blue jerseys, a more aggressive-looking bird on the helmet and a stripe down the side of the pants symbolizing the team's "12th man" fan base. The Chicago Bears are enlarging the GSH initials on their unis to honor founder and former coach George S. Halas.

A number of NFL stars, including Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots, modeled the new duds on stage.

The new jerseys go on sale the weekend of the 2012 NFL Draft from April 26-28. Nike took over as the NFL's official outfitter this Spring from Reebok.

"I love them," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the unveiling.

Afterward, Goodell said more teams may make design changes in the future. "The performance is so important for the athletes," he said. "What we tried to do is innovate. Even if the look doesn't change, there's innovation. You saw it with the Seahawks. There'll be more to come."

Victor Cruz of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants said the new uniforms are sleeker and more form-fitting, which should help him elude tacklers better.

The unis "conform and fit your body," Cruz said. "They're tight. You can't get pulled or snagged on. That's the biggest thing for me: making sure that I'm sleek and I'm fast and I can't be grabbed or held."

Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, said the jerseys are 20% to 30% lighter. The four-way stretch gives players a more contoured fit with less material for tacklers to grab. There's also padding built in to some parts of the uniforms. "It's extra layers where you need it and none where you don't," he said.

The Seahawks were "very open and actually eager" to push a head-to-toe uniform redesign with Nike, Parker said. "We worked with the players, coach and trainers. Really the whole Seattle organization."

The Portland, Ore.-based Nike drew on design features from the company's and Seahawks' home in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by how birds are portrayed on totem poles created by Native Americans, designers made the bird on the new helmet come to a point in the back. Parker said other NFL players have told him they're "jealous" of the way the Seahawks are pushing the envelope with their uniform design.

"We're not going too crazy," he said. "We're trying to respect tradition. But for those teams that want to push things a little bit …"

Paul Lukas, who contributes to ESPN.com and writes the Uni Watch blog, said after the event that the new unis look mostly the same to him.

"The biggest change I noticed was the collars," he said. "A lot of the teams have a two-tone collar which allows for the (Nike) Flywire design. But off the top of my head, the Packers look like the Packers, the Chiefs look like the Chiefs, the Bills look like the Bills, etc."

The Seahawks were the only team that told Nike to "do your best -- or do your worst," Lukas said. The biggest changes in the new uniforms are physical, such as the collars and mesh panels.

"NFL team owners are some of the most conservative businessmen in America," Lukas said. "They call the shots. They don't just sign off on what somebody else does. They ultimately make the decisions. It's their property, their teams. The notion that Nike, or any company, could just walk in and change everything unilaterally is (wrong). I think a lot of fans misunderstand how that works. It does not work that way."