Uni Watch Redesign Contest: The New England Patriots

The year 2000 was a momentous time for the New England Patriots. They hired Bill Belichick as their head coach and selected a quarterback named Tom Brady in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. There was also a third, less heralded arrival: a new uniform set that they continue to wear to this day.

But after a spectacularly successful 20-year run highlighted by nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships, the Pats appear to be on the verge of turning the page to a new era. They stumbled badly down the stretch of the 2019 regular season and then lost in the first round of the playoffs — their earliest postseason exit in a decade. Brady, who’s now 42, is coming off of a mediocre season and facing an uncertain future. Belichick will turn 68 in April (only Seattle’s Pete Carroll is older among NFL coaches) and appears to have lost his Midas touch.

So at some point in the not-too-distant future, the Pats will have to move on from the quarterback and head coach they acquired in 2000. And they should use that as an opportunity to move on from those 2000-era uniforms, too.

There are a lot of good reasons for this. For starters, the Pats’ “Flying Elvis” helmet logo (which was actually introduced in 1994 but was retained as part of the team’s 2000 uni makeover) is well past its sell-by date. Other aspects of the team’s uniform set, most notably the absurd side panels on the jerseys, now seem hopelessly dated. And with the team poised to move beyond the Brady/Belichick dynasty, it seems like a good idea to punctuate that transition with a new on-field look.

It’s not clear exactly when Brady and Belichick will exit the stage, but the time to start thinking about a new uniform design is clearly now. So that’s our latest Uni Watch design challenge: Redesign the Patriots!

Here are the guidelines:

Your entry must include a primary logo, full home and road uniforms (helmet, jersey, pants, socks), and up to two alternate, Color Rush or throwback uniforms. If you like, you can also include secondary logos and a field design, but those aren’t required.
You can maintain some of the team’s current elements (the helmet design, say, or the color scheme), draw upon the team’s visual history, or start from scratch and change everything. Up to you.
Your designs can be created in any digital or analog medium (Illustrator, Photoshop, crayon, whatever) and submitted in any standard digital format (JPG, PDF, TIFF, etc.). You can also create a video presentation, upload it to YouTube and submit the YouTube link as your entry.
The files you submit should be named after yourself (JohnDoe.jpg, for example). If you’re submitting multiple files, please either number them (JohnDoe1.jpg, JohnDoe2.jpg) or use some other designation (JohnDoe-HomeUni.jpg, JohnDoe-logo.jpg, etc.). Entries that don’t follow this format will not be considered.
In keeping with longstanding Uni Watch chromatic policy, entries with even a hint of purple will not be considered.
Email your entry to Uni Watch HQ. If you have more than one concept, feel free to enter as many times as you like.
Deadline: Submit all entries by Wednesday, Feb. 19. We’ll showcase the best entries here on InsideHook shortly thereafter. Good luck!

Paul Lukas loves the striped socks on the Pats’ road uni and hopes they’ll carry over to the team’s next uniform. If you like this column, you’ll probably like his Uni Watch Blog. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for his mailing list so you’ll always know when a new column has been posted. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, check out his Uni Watch merchandise or just ask him a question? Contact him here.