The Titans — or more accurately the NFL and Nike — have been working on new uniforms since 2014.
And while the most dramatic change in the for-sale-at-a-retailer-near-you clothes is the new navy helmet, it was nearly something even flashier.
According to Jason Wolf of the Tennesseean, one of the options presented to the Titans included silver mirrored helmet with red flames shooting from their logo.
While that might have matched the sunglasses of the local cops, they ultimately went with a navy blue with a silver sword-like stripe down the middle. Either way, the white helmet was one of the first things to go in the design process.
“We felt like there was something about the white helmet that didn’t quite make the new uniform design as tough and as clean and as stark as we thought it needed to be,” NFL creative director Shandon Melvin said. “And so we thought, well, let’s experiment with that and see what we could come up with.”
While there are some differences, the change was more subtle than the overhaul some teams have tried. That direction came from owner Amy Strunk Adams, who wanted to maintain the Columbia blue (aka light blue) highlights as a nod to the team’s heritage as the Houston Oilers.
By league rule, they have to stick with this uniform for at least five years, before the can tweak it again and sell new stuff to their fans.