Think you’re a football superfan?

Description

Tight nike jerseys are all the fashion in some sports. How better to show off the sculpted physiques of NBA players? In swimming and soccer, clothiers go so far as to claim (with limited evidence) that form-fitting unis enhance performance. Adidas, for instance, said its tight Chelsea jersey “stabilizes and focuses the muscles’ energy.”

That’s fine when you’re outfitting 11 of the world’s fittest athletes. But outfitting thenike nfl jerseys presents a range of problems—or rather, a problem of range. Some receivers, running backs and kickers weigh less than 200 pounds. Linemen, meanwhile, routinely top 300.

Some NFL defenders say they want tighter jerseys, because they provide less material for offensive linemen to grab. Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher joked earlier this summer that his defensive teammate, Julius Peppers, would score 50 quarterback cheap nfl jerseyssacks this season thanks to the tighter jersey.

But so far, that shift hasn’t quite happened. Instead, some players are spending inordinate amounts of time during breaks in the game pulling down their jerseys. For the Ravens’ Cody, the trouble begins in particular whenever it gets damp. “It feels like it tightens up and stuff, it’s hard to breathe, it constricts,” Cody said. As soon as his jersey gets wet, he added, “it’s kind of ruined.” On passing plays in Thursday night’s rain-soaked game against the Cleveland Browns, he continued, his jersey was “jacked up” on each down. Cody said he’s had to experiment with different sizes—from a 48-inch chest down to a 44.

Making jerseys for lineman has become a bigger challenge in recent years. The 1966 Green Bay Packers, winners of the first Super Bowl, did not feature an offensive lineman heavier than 250 pounds. Today, the Packers’ five offensive line starters weigh an average of 312.8.

As yet, no big linemen have registered complaints about the new jerseys with the Gridiron Uniform Database, a fan-run site primarily concerned with design debates such as whether “the stripes on the Redskins’ white pants thinner/narrower than they used to be.”

The site’s chief researcher, Tim Brulia, said that during the early decades of the league, little about uniforms changed beyond color and design. Uniforms consisted mostly of a cloth-like material called durene. In the 1960s, however, teams started switching to mesh because it’s lighter and less inclined to retain sweat. In the late 1970s, offensive linemen started a trend of tighter jerseys, which allowed less material to grab onto for opposing players. That idea eventually spread throughout all positions.

To Brulia, and 2013 nfl jerseysnearly everyone else, the new Nike jerseys appear to look a lot more attractive on running backs and receivers than the husky fellas up front. Leonard Davis, a 6-foot-6, 355-pound offensive guard for San Francisco, said the new jersey has a way of creeping up his torso. It’s not that he doesn’t like the jersey, he said. “I just wish it was a little bit longer.” He said his jersey routinely becomes un-tucked “and I don’t even play much.”