The NFL and Nike unveiled new “Rivalries” uniforms for the AFC South and NFC North divisions this week, the second year of a program that debuted with the AFC East and NFC West last season. The AFC South teams, the Colts, Texans, Titans, and Jaguars, join the NFC North’s Bears, Vikings, and Packers in getting the new alternate jerseys.
Each team will debut its Rivalries uniform during one home game against a division rival this season, and the jersey will then stay in the team’s uniform rotation for three years. The Colts go first, debuting theirs in Week 3 against the Texans; the Bears close out the rollout in Week 16 against the Packers.
Why the Program Is Expanding Division by Division
Last year’s AFC East and NFC West rollout became Fanatics’ highest-selling product launch ever, a commercial result that’s clearly driving the decision to keep expanding the program rather than launching all 32 teams’ alternates at once. The staggered division-by-division approach lets Nike and the NFL generate a fresh merchandise cycle and news moment for each rollout instead of one single event that would otherwise dilute attention across too many jerseys at once.
What’s Coming Next
The Rivalries program is scheduled to reach the AFC West and NFC East in 2027, and the AFC North and NFC South in 2028, meaning it will take until 2028 for every NFL team to have gone through the uniform refresh. Fans of teams further down the rollout schedule will be waiting several more years for their turn.
