By Kyle Kelleher, Communication Management, 2025
Over the winter offseason, MLB announced changes to the uniforms worn in-game by the players and coaches. Together with Nike and Fanatics, the changes are meant to enhance player performance and help them stay cool during the hot summer months. While being rolled out in Spring Training, Nike and Fanatics got extensive feedback from all kinds of sources, from players themselves to fans to everyone in between.
To give a little context behind the new jerseys, MLB, Nike, and Fanatics have been collaborating on jerseys since the spring of 2018. Prior to that, Majestic had been the manufacturer of the jerseys, starting in 1982. In 2017, Fanatics acquired Majestic in a $225 million deal, which brought upon the switch from Majestic to Fanatics as the MLB’s official jersey manufacturer. Two years after the Fanatics-Majestic deal, in 2019, MLB partnered with Nike in a decade-long agreement worth over $1 billion. Since then, MLB, Nike, and Fanatics have been working together on perfecting the uniforms.
Almost instantly after being revealed in mid-February, controversy and outrage arose among players and fans. Players have stated that the uniforms look “like a replica” and “like a knockoff jersey from T.J.Maxx”. On February 16, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner gave what is most likely the most damning comment about the new uniforms: “I know everyone hates them… we all liked what we had”. Additionally, the nameplates on the backs of the jerseys are a lot smaller and harder to see than in previous years, and has become a serious point 0f contention online.
Last year vs this year’s replica jersey offerings from the fine folks at MLB, Nike & Fanatics. Last year’s being on the left and this year’s on the right.
I have a lot to say, so bear with me here.
Let’s just rip the bandaid off right away with this year’s new jersey offerings pic.twitter.com/3IShhlj0nL
— Bobby Mullins (@TheBobbyMullins) February 11, 2024
Another point of contention has been the pants. The new pants have been compared to “a transparent dumpster fire” and being composed of “toilet paper”, due to the fact that they are essentially see-through. The pants are so bad and so see-through that you can see the players’ jerseys tucked in underneath the pants, and in some cases the player’s undergarments.
MLB has countered with its intent for the uniforms, saying that they were meant to “enhance player performance and cool players players off during the summer”, but this has done little to calm the outrage.
Players and fans alike are hoping a change before the regular season commences, but the chances of any changes occurring are slim-to-none, giving little hope to those begging for a change.