Knicks x Giants
When you mash up the jersey schemes of the New York Knicks and the New York Giants, you get something that’s both as ostentatious and intriguing as the player modeling said mashup in Odell Beckham Jr. The blue color of both teams already matches, and the bright orange of the Knicks brings a level of “look at me” shine that would suit Beckham perfectly. The colorful wide receiver made the Pro Bowl in each of this first three seasons in the NFL, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in 2017.
Celtics x Patriots
This one is perhaps the most interesting mashup of all, mixing one of the most iconic NBA jerseys with the classic red, white, and blue jersey of one of the NFL’s great dynasties. Fans in the greater New England area probably have little if any problem seeing Rob Gronkowski don a football jersey with heavy shades of Celtic green. The four-time All-Pro tight end is the only tight end to lead the NFL in touchdown receptions, and he’s currently tied for second in the NFL in touchdown receptions by a tight end in 2017.
Pacers x Colts
We gotta admit, the navy blue and yellow of the Indiana Pacers is a lot more eye-catching than the relatively mundane blue and white jersey of the Indianapolis Colts. If anything else, it would give more of a reason for fans in Indiana to go watch a Colts team that’s been mostly disappointing over the last few years. Of course, the team has been without quarterback Andrew Luck, pictured above, for all of 2017, as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.
Rockets x Texans
The Houston Texans have pretty imposing look to their jerseys, but the red and yellow design of the “Clutch City”-themed Houston Rockets jersey would give the Texans’ jerseys a real run for the money. Of course, defensive end J.J. Watt would look terrifying to opposing offensive players no matter what jersey he was wearing. Although, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has missed most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons due to injury. In Week 5 of the 2017 NFL season, Watt suffered a season-ending tibial plateau fracture in his left leg.
Hawks x Falcons
You know, seeing wide receiver Julio Jones trade the black and red of one of Atlanta’s “dirty birds” for the red and white of the city’s other dirty bird seems like it could work quite well. The throwback look of the Atlanta Hawks looks like it could make for a simple but sleek NFL jersey. Of course, Jones — who’s a marvel of a physical specimen — could make almost any color scheme look good. The four-time Pro Bowl selection has become one of the most unstoppable wide receivers in the NFL.
Bucks x Packers
At least Aaron Rodgers still gets to wear a jersey that’s primarily green. The Green and gold color combination of Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers is perhaps the most venerated jersey scheme in the NFL, but it seems to jive well with the “outdoorsy” colors and motif of the Milwaukee Bucks. Rodgers looked like an MVP candidate for much of the 2017 NFL season until he went down with a broken collarbone injury. Expect him to regain the mantle of “best quarterback in the NFL today” sometime early in the 2018 season.
Supersonics x Seahawks
If you’re a sports fan in Seattle, maybe you should just move along to the next page. It’s already one thing to be reminded of the fact that Clay Bennett selfishly moved the beloved Supersonics organization out of the Pacific Northwest, and into the middle of the midwest. But then, to see running back Marshawn Lynch, who left Seattle but still looks like he has plenty of tread left on his tires as a member of the Oakland Raiders, is double the insult. Even if you were to replace Lynch with quarterback Russell Wilson, a bona fide MVP candidate in 2017, it still won’t take away from the injustice of Bennett’s actions.
Nuggets x Broncos
To start off, it was already a rather odd sight to see Peyton Manning wearing the blue, orange, and white colors of the Denver Broncos, instead of the classic blue and white of the Indianapolis Colts. But then, to put him into the yellow gold and light blue colors of the Denver Nuggets? That feels even funnier. Regardless, Manning was able to bring one more championship win to the city of Denver in 2016, after which he retired. Considering the Nuggets have never won a championship title, maybe having Manning don their colors isn’t such a bad idea.
Suns x Cardinals
Even though purple was considered to be the color of royalty, it’s not a very masculine color to most NFL players. But then again, having a jersey inspired by an unintimidating red bird doesn’t exactly inspire fear in the hearts of opponents, either. So, perhaps Patrick Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals could borrow from the cross-town Phoenix Suns’ look, with the purple jersey topped with flame accents. A six-time Pro Bowl cornerback, Peterson remains one of the very best — if not THE best — players at his position in the league.
Hornets x Panthers
As easily-recognizable quarterback Cam Newton’s “rip off the suit to reveal the Superman” logo gesture is to NFL fans, it looks really strange taking place in the dark purple and teal colors of the Charlotte Hornets. In the 1990’s, the Hornets had one of the most popular jerseys with NBA fans, but Newton and the Panthers have clearly become the “A-list” sports team in town since then. The 2015 MVP has the Panthers primed for another postseason run in 2017.
Mavericks x Cowboys
While some might think that wide receiver Dez Bryant looks good as a fictional version of the Dallas Mavericks, this one doesn’t sit right. Bryant went from playing for the Cowboys at Oklahoma State University, to playing for the Cowboys at the professional level in the NFL. Nearly every football fan recognizes the blue, silver, and white of the Dallas Cowboys’ uniform, while the Mavericks don’t get anywhere near that national recognition, despite Mark Cuban’s best efforts.
Cavaliers x Browns
Funny how things can change in three years, huh? In the spring of 2014, Johnny Manziel was asking the coaches on the Cleveland Browns to draft him, so that they could wreck the league together. Fast forward to today, and Manziel is long since out of the NFL, and a virtual pariah. Even if LeBron James did bring the Cavaliers a championship ring, changing the Browns jerseys to look like those of the Cavaliers might still not be enough to fix the Browns losing ways.
Warriors x Raiders
Quarterback Derek Carr does look rather slick in this midnight blue and gold rendering of the Golden State Warriors jersey into a football version. But why mess with a good thing? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the legendary silver and black colors of the Raiders organization… even though they’ve struggled mightily in 2017, with Carr — among many other players — failing to live up to all the preseason expectations he/they had.
Heat x Dolphins
Despite only entering the league in 1987, the Miami Heath have had a list of superstar players in the franchise’s history: Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and of course, LeBron James. But seeing Ndamukong Suh in a Miami Heat uniform — of sorts — feels rather out of place. The four-time first-team All-Pro arrived in Miami prior to the start of the 2015 NFL season, signing a record-setting six-year, $114 million contract. Suh has been similar to the Miami Heat in recent days: a lot of money spent, but not really a ton to show for it.
Kings x 49ers
Let’s just say this one isn’t as clean of a mashup as some of the others. Most people realize that there is over 110 miles of distance between Golden 1 Center, where the Sacramento Kings play basketball, and Levi’s Stadium, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. Most people also realize that quarterback Colin Kaepernick no longer plays football for the 49ers. And in general, the red and gold colors of the 49ers just seems like one of uniforms you don’t want to mess with.
Pistons x Lions
The navy blue, red, and white colors of the Detroit Pistons would blend in almost seamlessly when mashed up with the Honolulu blue and white of the Detroit Lions. During the 2000’s, the Pistons were clearly the more successful franchise, but the pendulum seems to have swung back in the direction of the Lions. Regardless, if we were re-creating this mashup jersey today, it wouldn’t feature wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who retired after the 2015 NFL season as the Lions franchise leader in receiving yards.