Today the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Nike unveiled the team's new NFL Nike Elite 51 Uniform design for the 2014 season. The uniform is a completely integrated system of dress with a new design that honors the Buccaneers' rich tradition while boldly bringing the team into the future through a modern industrial design aesthetic.
In collaboration with the Buccaneers and the NFL, Nike designers incorporated many of the unique historical aspects of the Tampa Bay area by showcasing the city's roots, vibrant culture and spirited fanbase. The new uniform features a refreshed color scheme honoring the franchise's past and present, while confidently positioning the team for the future.
"Today marks the culmination of more than two years of research and planning to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a new and exciting era of our history," said Buccaneers co-chairman Edward Glazer. "We worked closely with our partners at Nike to design a uniform that would set the standard for both design and functionality. The result is a sleek, modern design that honors our championship past while also establishing a new, bolder identity moving forward."
The base uniform color has been energized with richer pewter, juxtaposed with a brighter, more vibrant shade of "Buccaneer Red". In homage to the Buccaneers' early uniforms, the look also features "Bay Orange" as a new primary trim color and accent on both the jersey and the pants. Tampa Bay also becomes the first NFL franchise to incorporate a revolutionary reflective chrome border around the numbers on the front, back and shoulders. The chrome border incorporates a technologically advanced reflective coating that adds a new dimension, increased readability and a unique glow to the numbers.
Custom name and number fonts feature beveled edges inspired by historical Buccaneer blade carvings, echoing the modern industrial design inspiration. The team's white jerseys sport pewter sleeves and shoulders with red numbers, while the red jerseys also feature pewter sleeves and shoulders but with white numbers on the body and red numbers on the shoulders-- adding an extra element of energy to the evolved Buccaneer identity.
The team's secondary logo, a powerful wooden ship fueled by wind-filled sails, is similarly refined to convey the Bucs' relentless energy. The redesigned wooden ship is positioned on the right shoulder and the abbreviated "BUCS" moniker on the left. The enhanced flag is proudly displayed on both the right and left hip of the pant.
The team's transformation is exemplified in the Bucs new helmet, featuring a reinvigorated logotype and highlighted by an updated, more menacing Jolly Roger. Unique to the Buccaneers, the helmet also features a hand-painted pewter speed line overlaid with a larger flag logo designed to accentuate the revolutionized, confident spirit of the franchise.
THE NIKE ELITE 51 UNIFORM – AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF DRESS Designed and engineered from the inside out, the NFL Nike Elite 51 Uniform focuses on creating a system where the baselayer, padding, jersey and pant work in concert. Lightweight padding is also integrated directly into the crucial "hit zones" in the baselayer. New innovations include integrated Flywire technology in the neckline to reduce weight and provide lockdown fit over pads, increased sleeve articulation for better range of motion, and all-over four-way stretch fabrication to provide a streamlined shrink-wrap fit. The on-field uniform collection features two jerseys, two pants, 3 sock options, and one helmet.
As the official uniform supplier of the NFL, Nike provides all on-field, baselayer, sideline, and training apparel for the league's 32 teams. The new Bucs fan jerseys are scheduled to go on sale April 1, 2014 at Buccaneers.com, Nike.com and NFLShop.com.
The previously scheduled press event on Wednesday, March 5, has been replaced in favor of an exclusive, Buccaneers Season Pass Members-only event featuring the first live viewing of the new uniforms. Further details will be provided at a later date. A photo gallery of high-resolution imagery and additional information regarding the team's new look will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET on both Buccaneers.com and Nikeinc.com.
