Nike expands Color Rush program to all teams

ByDarren Rovell ESPN logo
Tuesday, September 13, 2016

There will be no colorblind game this year.

Nike unveiled new Color Rush monochromatic uniforms for all 32 teams on Tuesday, but also indicated that some teams will wear all white during Thursday night games if the matchup of color uniforms would cause issues for the approximately 10 million Americans who are colorblind.

Last November, the Buffalo Bills wore all red against the New York Jets, who were in all green, making the teams nearly indistinguishable to colorblind viewers.This year, the Bills will again wear all red, but the Jets will be in white when the program kicks off Thursday.

Nike brought in doctors from Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to review which Color Rush matchups would be problematic for people with colorblindness.

Other teams that will wear white include the Cleveland Browns,since their all-brown uniforms would blend with the Baltimore Ravens' purple, and the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks, because distinguishing yellow from green would be an issue.

Other teams will wear all white on the field because their primary Color Rush color is the same as their opponent's. The Atlanta Falcons will wear white against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Arizona Cardinals will wear white against the San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans will wear white against the New England Patriots.

Six teams -- the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders -- chose all white for their Color Rush uniforms.

Three teams -- the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions -- won't wear the Color Rush jerseys on the field because Thanksgiving games aren't part of the Color Rush program this season.

Nike will still sell the full color jerseys for all teams at retail.

Last season, only eight teams took part in the program.

The Color Rush program allows Nike to take risks and sell more gear to further help make money from the company's official deal as the NFL apparel supplier, which began in 2012 and, through an extension, goes through the 2019 season.

Every cent the NFL makes from the royalty of the Color Rush uniform sales at retail will be donated to the NFL Foundation, which funds youth health, safety and wellness programs. The first $500,000 will go toward replacing football equipment that youth and high school programs lost in the recent Louisiana flooding.