Despite being the designated home team, the New England Patriots announced on Thursday they will wear their standard silver helmets, white road jerseys, white alternate pants and white socks when they take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8 (6:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
The Patriots are 5-0 in their white alternate pants – which debuted this season and feature the same red and navy blue striping pattern as their silver pants – including victories at the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 12, Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 23, Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 21, New York Jets on Dec. 28 and Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25.
New England also wore this combination, albeit with its previous uniform design, in a win at Tampa Bay in 2017, as the Patriots countered the Buccaneers’ Color Rush uniforms with a monochromatic look of their own. They’ve otherwise worn silver or navy blue pants with their home and road jerseys since 1993, when they rebranded around their current “Flying Elvis” logo.
Of course, that’s not to be confused with the white pants New England has worn with its “Pat Patriot” throwback uniforms during select games in 2002, from 2009-12 and from 2022 through this season or the white pants the Patriots debuted as part of their “Rivalries” uniforms in a win over the Jets on Nov. 13, with “Storm Blue” and metallic silver stripes and a subtle fishing net pattern.
New England is 4-2 in the Super Bowl in its white road jerseys, including wins over the Philadelphia Eagles in XXXIX, Seahawks in XLIX, Atlanta Falcons in LI and Los Angeles Rams in LIII and losses to the Green Bay Packers in XXXI and Eagles in LII. They are 0-1 in red jerseys (XX against the Chicago Bears) and 2-2 in blue jerseys, including wins over the St. Louis Rams in XXXVI and Carolina Panthers in XXXVIII and losses to the New York Giants in XLII and XLVI.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, will counter with their standard home uniforms of navy blue helmets, jerseys, pants and socks, the same combination they wore in the aforementioned loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. They are 6-0 in the design this season, including victories over the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs and the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Seattle also wore the home version of its previous uniform design, which included a lighter shade of blue referred to as “Seahawks Blue,” in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. The Seahawks are 1-0 in the Super Bowl in their white road jerseys, meanwhile, pairing them with navy blue helmets, pants and socks in a victory over the Broncos in XLVIII.
One uniform-related note working against Seattle is that 16 of the last 21 Super Bowl championship have worn white jerseys, including the only other Super Bowl hosted at Levi’s Stadium, as the Broncos (white jerseys) beat the Panthers (black jerseys) in Super Bowl 50. The only other Super Bowl held in the San Francisco area (XIX) saw the 49ers knock off the Miami Dolphins while wearing their home uniforms at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto.
The Seahawks will also wear a patch that marks their 50th season on their left shoulder, just as they have all season. They’ll become the first team to wear a franchise anniversary or season patch in the Super Bowl, though several teams have worn a league-wide anniversary patch in the Super Bowl, including the Kansas City Chiefs (AFL’s 10th) and Minnesota Vikings (NFL’s 50th) in IV, the 49ers and San Diego Chargers in XXIX (NFL’s 75th) and the 49ers and Chiefs in LIV (NFL’s 100th), though that was just a modified shield at the base of their collar.
In addition to the Super Bowl logo patch, which was first worn in XXV and became standard during XXXII, both the Patriots and Seahawks will have a “USA 250” patch affixed to their uniforms in celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial. The shield-shaped patch is primarily navy blue with red and white stripes, pulling inspiration from American flag, and includes a star inside of the “250.”
The NFL began participating in the nationwide recognition of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Week 18, with teams using commemorative footballs that feature the “America 250” logo and placing a matching wordmark along the sidelines, with that stencil also set to appear on the field at Super Bowl LX.
“The NFL is proud to participate in celebrating America’s 250th anniversary,” league commissioner Roger Goodell said last month. “The story of the NFL reflects the story of America, and the American spirit of resilience, innovation and teamwork has helped football grow into a cultural pastime that unites us all. We are excited to honor our country’s history and celebrate our collective future.”
This won’t be the first time that the NFL has celebrated the country’s anniversary, as the Steelers and Dallas Cowboys wore patches on their jerseys to mark the United States’ bicentennial in Super Bowl X. That patch – which was created by Bruce N. Blackburn, the co-designer of NASA’s modern insignia – featured a stylized red, white and blue star that was encircled by the inscription “American Revolution Bicentennial, 1776-1976.”
Photos courtesy of @Patriots and @Seahawks on X/Twitter.
