The Denver Broncos have had a storied history when it comes to the uniforms they’ve donned every Sunday, but the Broncos could benefit from a complete overhaul that many other franchises have participated in.
The orange and blue have always been synonymous with Denver ever since they switched to the colors in 1962. Although no one will forget about the infamous mustard uniforms with striped socks the franchise started with in 1960. The biggest and possibly controversial change to some was the complete makeover the franchise made from the 1996 to 1997 season.
After locking in the number one seed and being an easy Super Bowl pick, the Denver Broncos were bounced from the playoffs by the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-27. Late owner and Hall of Famer Pat Bowlen wanted the change after the loss and was wanting a more fierce and intimidating look.
Although the Broncos won their first-ever world championship that season, a lot of people were upset with the change in the primary jersey’s from orange to blue.
Denver would eventually switch back to the orange primary in 2012 when Nike became the league’s official uniform provider. Again Denver found success when they signed arguably the biggest free agent in history in Peyton Manning. The Denver Broncos would go on to win their third Super Bowl in 2015. Since then, it’s been a whole different story as they have not posted a playoff season since.
New uniforms could change that. They switched and won a super bowl the first year in the navy blues. It could happen again. They just need to do it the right way by being smart and simple and not overcomplicate the uniform.
The franchise could use a fresh take on the horse and colors to usher in a new era of Broncos football. They should not only incorporate from the past but develop for the future too.
One of the best uniforms the Denver Broncos wore were the classic “Orange Crush” years with the D logo and orange jerseys which is where the organization should draw from the past. Using the lighter blue with orange would be a simple, yet dynamic color combo. Somehow keeping the current logo would give the team a great pop.
Where the most time being creative should be, is the jerseys and pants, as the Broncos are often picked as one of the top teams in need of new uniforms. Most teams are planning to bring back throwbacks now that the league has allowed the use of a second helmet beginning in 2022, but Denver should focus on the new.
If they take out the weakest part of their uniform in the pointed stripes on the sides and introduce a more sleek and simple look, such as the three basic stripes or just the current stripe on the pants only. The team could have a sense of new beginnings while maintaining their roots that Broncos Country knows so well.
It’s hard to say this, but if Denver does something similar to what their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers did with their uniforms and implement from the past but tweak it to have a more modern look with a number of uniform combos, then they could still keep the current navy blue and orange scheme as an alternate and still manage to keep the color rush uniform.
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Only time will tell if Denver will actually entertain the idea of changing to new uniforms and if that ever becomes a reality, the future could look very bright aesthetically for the team. Add in a franchise quarterback, and then the Denver Broncos can finally be seen by the rest of the league.