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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs New Uniforms Draw from Super Bowl Era

The Buccaneers new uniforms, revealed on April 7, bring back much of the team's look from 1997-2013 but also include some modern touches.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new look, but in many ways it's also a familiar look, one that has already proved hugely popular with the team's passionate fanbase.

On April 7, the Buccaneers revealed the new uniforms, marks and colors they will begin wearing in 2020. The team had announced in February that it would be unveiling its new look in the spring, and that the changes had been inspired largely by fan feedback.

Buccaneers Owner/Co-Chairman Ed Glazer stated: "This new but familiar look is a direct result of the valuable feedback we received from our fans. We are excited to return to our classic Super Bowl era uniforms while also introducing a sleek Color Rush uniform that showcases our signature pewter in a new and dramatic way. The refreshed classic design of our home and away combinations bridges our past with our exciting new future, and we are confident it will resonate with our fans."

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Based on that fan input, much of the new uniform is identical to what the team wore from 1997 through 2013, which included the most successful on-field stretch in franchise history. From 1997 through 2007 the Buccaneers went to the playoffs seven times in 11 years, played in two conference championship games and captured their first Lombardi Trophy. The Buccaneers beat the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, on January 26, 2003 while wearing their signature pewter pants and red jerseys.

The Buccaneers hope to create another era of postseason success with a new set of stars making the Super Bowl-era uniform their own signature look. That includes six time Super Bowl Champion QB Tom Brady and linebacker Lavonte David, who was thrilled to return to uniforms similar to what he wore in his first two Buccaneer seasons, along with the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Vita Vea, Donovan Smith, Devin White, Shaquil Barrett, Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul

The font for the jersey numbers is the same one used from 1997-2013, as well, and the helmet will once again feature a black facemask. There will also be a brand new alternate uniform featuring pewter pants and jerseys that the Buccaneers anticipate becoming a fan favorite.

While the Buccaneers are going back to the darker red of their previous uniforms, they are retaining the shade of pewter used in the most recent version. The team explored going back to the original pewter pants but the fabrics used by Nike today are completely different than in the 1990s and therefore it was impossible to re-create the historic pewter color in today's textiles.

The new uniform also retains the modern flag-and-crossed-swords logo, while incorporating the original shade of red. The side of the flag on the helmet has been reduced to ensure the sword is visible on all helmet types used by players. The new uniforms also feature the modern ship design. The logotype mark has also been updated. The words Tampa Bay and the drop shadow are now in pewter, and the word Buccaneers is in the original darker red.

The stripes on the pewter and white pants of the new uniform will be just as they were in the previous era, alternating black, orange and red straight down the side of each leg. The jerseys are one solid color. The numbers on the jerseys – red on the white jersey and white on the red and pewter jerseys – are trimmed in black and orange, just as they were from 1997-2013. The team is also returning to the "Twill" font from that era for its jersey numbers, which was one of the areas in which fan feedback spoke the loudest.

Black and white socks will be worn with the home and away uniforms and the pewter socks will be worn with the all pewter look.

The Color Rush uniforms are something wholly new to the NFL. The matching pewter jerseys and pants create a unique and aggressive look, with sharp red-and-white striping on the pants and outlining the numbers. The Buccaneers will be allowed to wear the new uniforms up to three times a year during the regular season.

In addition to the feedback from Buccaneers fans who wanted to see a return to the Super Bowl-era uniforms, the team also heard from some fans who remain fond of the team's initial orange-and-white scheme and enjoyed the throwback games staged between 2009 and 2012. The Buccaneers are eager to return to annual throwback games but are still blocked by NFL rules that only allow a team to have one set of helmets for its players for an entire season. The Buccaneers orange-era helmets were white, not pewter. Many NFL teams, including the Buccaneers, are hopeful that NFL rules regarding this matter will be altered to allow a second helmet color in the near future, but there will not be a throwback game in 2020.

The Buccaneers have a new look in 2020 - take a look at pictures of their new uniforms!

This is the third time in the franchise's 45-year history that the team has made significant changes to its uniform, colors and marks. From their inaugural season in 1976 through 1996, the Buccaneers wore orange and white uniforms, with the helmet bearing a pirate with a knife clinched in his teeth and a feather in his hat. The most dramatic change came in 1997, when the current logo and color scheme were introduced. The Buccaneers completely changed their uniforms in 2014, with a design created for a more modern look, including the shades of the color, the more stylistic striping on the pants, the shoulder bars and reflective numbers in the font meant to look like carvings from a sword. The current update trades in much of the modern update for a more traditional look, as many other NFL teams have done in recent years.

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