The NFL, as much as it is a market and a business in the form of sports, has also been diligent with its rules and regulations. Whether it is conduct on or off the field or errantly made public comments, repercussions are something everyone associated with the league has to deal with.
However, some of the strictest barometers in the NFL surround the uniforms the athletes wear on the field. One such rule is around the throwback uniforms that have become increasingly commonplace across the board. Today, we look back at any unique situations where a team wore such a jersey for the Super Bowl.
Alternate and Throwback Uniforms in the Super Bowl
This year, the NFL expanded the number of times teams could wear their alternate or throwback jerseys to four instances. But they are almost exclusively restricted to regular-season and preseason games.
Very rarely has the league allowed teams to opt in for throwback or alternate jerseys in playoff atmospheres, and certainly on a stage as grand as the Super Bowl. Some teams, like the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowls 53 and 56, wore “modern throwbacks”; that designation came from the fans alone.
While the design was indeed a throwback to their success in the 1970s, they had allocated the white design as their home jerseys for the season. As a result, while fans deemed it a throwback, it remained a regular uniform for those particular years.
The only time a team has legitimately worn a throwback uniform in the Super Bowl came over three decades ago. The San Francisco 49ers, whose stadium hosts the Big Game this year, had the unique opportunity to play in Super Bowl 29 at the end of the 1994 season.
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NFL, teams were given a greater leeway to honor past generations and adorn throwback jerseys multiple times.
The 49ers, after finding success in their 1955 look, which featured white pants and red jerseys with unique three-dimensional block-shadow numerals, petitioned to wear them during the playoffs as well.
In a rare showing, the league granted their request, and the decision turned out to be a fantastic one for San Francisco. Dominating the game against the San Diego Chargers, they walked away with a comfortable 49-26 victory.
However, Super Bowl 60 won’t be one such day, as both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will wear their regular uniforms.
The Seahawks have chosen their all-navy uniforms, which include “college navy” from head to toe, with Wolf Grey and green highlights along both jerseys and pants. On the jersey, they’ll also be wearing three different patches.
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The first will commemorate Super Bowl 60, another will mark the 50th anniversary of the Seahawks franchise, and the final one will mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Undefeated this season while wearing their all-navy uniforms, Seattle will be hoping to continue their good fortune in the ensemble. On the other hand, the Patriots opted to go for their all-white look, which has kept them undefeated this season as well.
With teams in the white uniform winning 18 of the last 26 Super Bowls, the hope in New England has to be that they can add to that number in the Big Game.
