MLB will fix its uniforms for next season. Here’s who it blamed for the poor design
MLB will fix its uniforms for next season. Here’s who it blamed for the poor design
MLB promised major improvements with its new uniforms. Now it’s saying Nike botched the design.
Major League Baseball is going back to the drawing board for its uniforms next season, and claims Nike is the one who struck out on the current design.
The MLB Players Association addressed backlash to the league’s new Nike Vapor Premier uniforms in a recent memo to players, obtained by ESPN. The memo says the league will make modifications to the much-maligned uniforms starting next season, including higher-quality zippers, larger lettering on the back of the jerseys, and issues related to the uniforms collecting sweat.
While the sports apparel maker Fanatics has received blowback for manufacturing the Nike-designed uniforms, the memo lays the blame squarely on Nike: “This has been entirely a Nike issue. At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”
WHY ARE THE MLB UNIFORM DESIGNS GETTING SO MUCH FLAK?
When MLB announced the new uniforms in February, it gushed that they were “engineered to improve mobility, moisture management, and fit” (based on body scans of more than 300 players). The players seemed to like the uniforms when they were introduced at the 2023 MLB All-Star Game—but the love didn’t last.
When the uniforms rolled out this season, they drew criticism over design issues like see-through pants, fabric that’s prone to tears, and gray uniforms with tops and bottoms that don’t match. Despite the promise of a faster-drying material made from recycled polyester yarns, players complained that the uniforms collected sweat. And the small lettering on the back of jerseys was criticized for looking amateurish.
There’s also a perception that Nike hasn’t been responsive to design criticism. “Unfortunately, until recently Nike’s position has essentially boiled down to ‘Nothing to see here, players will need to adjust,’” the memo read, adding that the league “cautioned Nike against various changes when they previewed them in 2022, particularly regarding pants.”
The MLB isn’t getting out of this, either. On social media, fans accused the league of not doing anything to resolve the design issues. “Not going to be fixed. According to MLB it’s not broken,” one user wrote on an MLB Reddit thread.
BUT MLB ISN’T THE ONLY LEAGUE WITH UNIFORM DESIGN FLAWS
Nike’s MLB uniform design issues aren’t its only troubles. Athletes said a leotard the company designed for the U.S. women’s Olympic track-and-field team was cut too high. The sports apparel brand also has uniform deals with the NFL, WNBA, and NBA, where its strategy of releasing jerseys at a tempo usually reserved for sneaker drops has led to accusations that it’s run out of ideas.
“Nike is ruining the nostalgia of jerseys, every year it’s a new jersey and what gets lost is brand identity,” Washington Wizards player Kyle Kuzma wrote on social media last year. With mixed reviews of its products for elite-level athletes, it seems Nike may need to reevaluate how it designs its performance apparel.
THAT LEAVES NIKE WITH MIXED STANDINGS
All of this is occurring at the start of a multiyear brand deal with the league. Nike and Fanatics signed a $1 billion, 10-year deal with MLB in 2019 to design and manufacture jerseys. When contacted, Nike did not offer a comment.
Nike’s compounding problems could threaten its position as the preeminent kit maker for North American pro leagues, and it comes at an inopportune time. Its eight-year exclusive uniform and apparel deal for the NBA and WNBA is set to expire next year, and its deal with the NFL three years after that.
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