The Broncos unveiled their first major uniform update in 27 years Monday, culminating more than a year of work with a closet that includes a full set of 10 combinations in orange, white and navy.
The Mile High Collection, as the team calls its new wardrobe, features several tweaks and modifications — and a substantially revamped helmet design — while maintaining the same color palette the team’s used since 1997.
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More than 10,000 survey results from fans showed the club a starting spot: Most wanted new uniforms and a slight majority preferred to keep the current color palate.
The process began in earnest in January of 2023. Several club executives as well as owner Carrie Walton Penner made an initial trip to Nike headquarters in Oregon later in the spring. The team knew it wanted flexible uniforms — with the new pant design and no stripe on the side of the jerseys, the team can wear any combination of top and bottom in any of the three colors — and wanted to incorporate some elements of Colorado.
“It was great to hear from the Nike folks, from a pure design standpoint, them talking about what it felt like in 1997 — or from the ones that weren’t there, how they study uniform history and how it felt like in 1997 was incredibly innovative,” Broncos president Damani Leech said. “We still want to do that. We wanted to move the aesthetic forward, move the game forward. And we wanted expansion. We want this to be something that a new, young, diverse fanbase can say, wow, that’s amazing. I want to be a part of that from a fan standpoint and I want to wear that from an apparel standpoint.”
Those Colorado elements include:
• Perforated triangle vents on the numbers, front and back, that get more spaced out as they rise up the jersey, a representation of thinning air at higher elevations
• A similar triangle pattern on a revamped helmet stripe, which begins at the base of the helmet and ends at the crown rather than continuing all the way to the front
• “5280” references on the helmet bumper and set in the stripe of the pant leg
• A jagged angle, reflecting both Colorado’s terrain but also mirroring the jawline of the Bronco on the team’s logo, on the side of the shoulder
• The words “Broncos Country” stitched into the back neckline of every uniform as well as a summit marker along the back collar
• A simplified nameplate that has a more rounded form, a nod to park signage in Colorado
• Three triangles on the side of the uniform symbolizing the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles
Leech said the Broncos went through double-digit iterations during the design process with Nike.
Denver’s helmets will look perhaps the most different to the casual observer. The three varieties are finished with metallic satin, designed to catch the light from different angles and are an exclusive design from Nike. The club also shrank the logo size on the helmet by 15% to increase the impact of the metallic satin.
The helmets come in both navy and white.
Outside of the league-introduced “Color Rush” uniforms and last year’s “Snowcapped” helmet, this is the first major uniform refresh for the club since 1997.
“We have a very passionate fanbase and I’m really excited to share this out with them,” chief marketing officer Hailey Sullivan said. “This process has been very deliberate with different markers and milestones. It’s been a fun process and we’re really just excited to unveil this.”
Denver also unveiled a throwback uniform on Monday.
“Broadly I’m incredibly excited,” Leech said. “I think it’s a fresh take on our uniforms with this primary set. It’s not a dramatic departure from where we’ve been. I think we have great colors, a great logo and uniforms. So, it’s a refresh that is, I think, really, really exciting. And I absolutely love the throwbacks. Like, I’ve wanted that since Day 1 and I really love the way it came together.”
The orange uniform top is the team’s primary home color and the white is the primary away color, while the navy is the alternate. However, any color of pants can be worn with any of the tops for any game. The Broncos got rid of the stripe on the side of the uniform to facilitate that versatility. In 2022, for example, the team wore white uniform tops and navy pants, but the orange stripe on the pants clashed with a navy stripe on the side of the uniforms. No longer with the cleaner uniform tops.
Alternate uniforms can be worn in up to three games per season.
Jerseys and apparel from the Mile High Collection are on sale as of Monday at the team’s store at Empower Field and the plan is to broaden the apparel line and options over the course of the summer and through the 2024 season.
The team’s got surprises and giveaways throughout the day at the store Monday and a celebration from 6-8 p.m.
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