Falcons go back to black, pay homage to team's history and Atlanta with new uniforms

ATLANTA - The Falcons unveiled their long-awaited new uniforms on Wednesday morning.

The new home look will feature black jerseys and black pants, with the away uniform displaying white on white. 

Several signature elements across the new uniforms are highlighted in red including the familiar Falcons bird logo, the new ATL mark across the chest and the new stripe down the side. Red is also featured as a primary jersey color in the new gradient "Rise Up" alternate uniform.

In total, the new uniform collection will provide up to eight different color combinations, including the current throwback set paying homage to the 1966 team as well as a new "Rise Up" alternate uniform.

The new Nike Falcons fan jerseys will go on sale April 14th on shop.AtlantaFalcons.com as well as in the team's store at Mercedes-Benz Stadium upon re-opening.

The redesign is the organization's first in 17 years and was based off of fan research collected from current and former players, focus groups, online and through different social mediums beginning in January 2018. In those studies, the Falcons said "the overwhelming plea was consistent: 1) Own red, but bring on the black, 2) reflect the modern progression of the city, and 3) keep it simple and stay true to our roots."

The new uniforms were a hit with current Falcons players.

"I think these new uniforms will give us, give the city a new energy and I think people are going to really be excited about it," said defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. "We know this is a tough time for everyone right now, but we hope this can bring some excitement and light to our city and our fans. Around the whole world everybody knows what ATL stands for, so we're proud to represent that, today and every day."

"Just letting them know exactly what we're playing for, the city we're playing for," said linebacker Deion Jones. "There are a lot of people in this city that ride for the Falcons, and we want to let them know that we're riding for them, also. I like that."

"There's just a feeling to it. I can't explain it when you look in your locker and that color and head to toe in black is going to be good, too," quarterback Matt Ryan said. "I don't know what it is, but I know there's a feeling that comes with it for the guys, too, when we see that in our lockers."

Fans will be just as excited to see the black-on-black uniforms, especially considering black jerseys have been a part of the Falcons' history since their first game in 1966.

"We took a fan-first approach in gathering feedback and design input and have modernized the look of our team and our brand," said Falcons President Rich McKay. "Black has been a part of our organization since we took the field in 1966 so we’ve stayed true to our roots and have given our fans and players what they’ve been asking for over many years."

Like Atlanta as a city, the Falcons organization has grown and modernized, and they wanted the new uniforms to reflect that without losing sight of the team's history and community with other major sports teams in the area.

"This process has been a true reflection of Arthur Blank’s core values -- listening and responding to our fans," said Morgan Shaw Parker, the Falcons' chief marketing officer. "The city has evolved, our stadium has evolved and we knew it was time to do the same with our brand."

The familiar, identifiable Atlanta Falcons wordmark has been tightened and sharpened for ease of use, while the new numbers boast a more modern typeface, a drop shadow and sharp terminals to match the angles of the current wordmark and primary Falcon bird logo, which was updated in 2003 and remains the same. The new uniforms stayed true to the Falcons' roots by keeping their colors and the Falcon bird intact but making it even more prominent than ever before but delivering a more modern design that reflects the team, fans and Atlanta.