“Suddenly the Giant fans up making noise, they got some life. Daluiso, good foot into this one, kicked it full, not real good though 16 yard line Jermaine Lewis 25, 30. J-Lew kicks it outside, he’s at the 40, 45, he’s at midfield down the far sideline, STILL ON HIS FEET! HE’S GOING ALL THE WAY! ALL RIGHT! JERMAINE LEWIS GOES ALL THE WAY OH MY GOSH!”
When you think of the Baltimore Ravens you see a franchise that’s been one of the gold standards of the NFL throughout the 21st Century (You were right Kyle Hamilton, we are absolutely spoiled fans). 2 Super Bowl Titles, 7 appearances in the AFC Championship Game, 8 AFC North Titles, and countless legends and generational talents as far as the eye can see. Whether it’s on the field, in the coaching ranks, and in the executive room, the Ravens have always strided to be the very best. And over the last 25 years they have been just that outside of New England and Kansas City. (We’ll throw Philly in there too because they’re the Ravens of the NFC) Not to mention they have a marketing and Social Media team that I would put up against anyone in the world in any brand. (That’s how good those people are) For as much as I could go on and on about all of that and trust me I’d be all for it, there’s one element that’s going to be discussed in detail.
(THE UNIFORMS)
Just like almost everything else involving the Ravens organization, their uniforms have been one of the best in the NFL year in and year out. But in 2026 the Boys in Purple will be donning a new look for the first time since 1999. It certainly wasn’t an easy choice as you will come to understand. Uniform changes in the NFL often require thought, details, and endless preparation and commitment just like how it is with the players on the field. In this case you must come up with creative ideas and more importantly visions of what the jersey, pants, and helmets can look like. The Ravens surprisingly have been discussing plans for new uniforms for the last 6 years. It ironically coincided with the retirements of longtime Team President Dick Cass and PR Director Kevin Bryne, who each had been there since the beginning in 1996. During this past half decade, the Ravens came up with idea after idea on what their new uniforms could look like, and also got mock designs from Nike based on the information. (I can just picture Sashi Brown and Brad Downs having long conversations about which rebrand idea was their favorite) They were close to announcing them in 2023 but they thought that they could do even better than the designs that they did at the time. Normally when a team is getting new uniforms they’re looking to significantly upgrade a uniform that looked ugly from the outset or usher in a new era. From the Ravens perspective they had the mindset of the Maryland Stadium Authority when they were building Oriole Park at Camden Yards back in the early 1990s. That being a classical feel but with all of the modern amenities. Not to mention they quietly had the sense of using the Next Flight uniform collection as a way to alter recent playoff failures. Ever since THAT GAME against the Tennessee Titans in the 2019 AFC Divisional Round, the Ravens have gone from a team that no one wanted to face in the playoffs for many years to a franchise that constantly got bullied by the big boys in the AFC thanks to several flaws in coaching and structure being exposed along the way. The desperation to bring Baltimore a 3rd Championship and to make sure that Lamar Jackson is on the same level as Lewis, Phelps, Ripken, and Unitas among others in this city’s sports lore.
You know which uniform model the Ravens are trying to follow in this case in terms of trying to change their luck? The 1997 Denver Broncos. Prior to that season the Broncos were considered the lovable losers of the NFL. They were 0-4 all time in the Super Bowl (They got blown out in each one which makes it worse), John Elway was considered the Greatest QB not to win a championship in the history of the game, and the year before lost to an expansion team in the playoffs as the #1 seed while being a 14 point favorite. What was the first thing Pat Bowlen did after that Divisional Round loss against Jacksonville? He made up his mind that the iconic Orange Crush uniforms had to be replaced. They added a new logo, navy blue and white uniforms, while also keeping orange as a secondary color. What happened in the first two years of those uniforms. Denver won back to back Super Bowls, and John Elway cemented his legacy as one of the game’s greatest QBs. (Trevor Price who was on those Bronco teams once said that if a new uniform is successful, people fall in love with them quickly) That’s the results the Ravens want with the Next Flight. A championship caliber team right off the bat. But what about the uniforms they’re replacing you ask? This needs a deep dive!
(RAVENS UNIFORM HISTORY)
Before we start the uniform history, let’s play the most infamous quote in Cleveland Sports History just for good measure (Have fun with Todd Monken, Steve Saunders, and George Warhop all you Browns fans!) “Ladies and Gentlemen, WE HAVE A SIGNED CONTRACT AT HAND! The Browns are indeed coming to Baltimore!” The first thing Art Modell wanted when he moved the first iteration of the Browns to Baltimore besides a stadium to call his own was a team name that fans in Charm City would fall in love with. To do this he left the Browns name, history, and colors all in Cleveland so when the 1999 Expansion Draft came the resurrected Browns franchise could reclaim all of those past accomplishments. They couldn’t be the Colts or Stallions because Robert Irsay took everything that this city held dear in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. It came down to the Marauders, Bombers, Americans, and of course the Ravens. Then on March 29, 1996 Modell announced to fans at the Inner Harbor that the original Browns would be renamed the Ravens. And then a month later they obviously drafted Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis with their 1st 2 picks. (And they got Jermaine Lewis and DeRon Jenkins with the latter being shipped off to Atlanta in 1999 for a 1st pick that became Jamal Lewis the following year)
So here’s where we get to the uniforms and what they used to look like. In 1996 they wore purple jerseys with white block numbers and a gold outline to go with a flying bird on the side of the jersey, black pants with a white stripe and a Ravens shield, plus white socks with purple and black stripes at home with black helmets featuring the original Flying B logo. (More on the original logo later) And on the road they wore white jerseys with purple block numbers with a white outline and the same black pants we just mentioned above even though the socks had no black stripes. The following year they dumped the block numbers and added a black drop shadow on each of their jerseys. 1997 was also the first year where the Ravens wore Purple on White at home while still wearing White on Black on the road (The black pants had a purple stripe on them in 97, didn’t work out too well). Then in 1998 the Whiteout look made its debut while the home socks which debuted in 1996 also were worn for both home and away games. Which leads us to a huge turning point for the Ravens in their uniform history. 1999. That offseason they were sued by Frederick Bouchat for using a copyright of the design he used for the original Flying B logo. Which meant that Baltimore was getting a new main logo. And my gosh did they hit a grand salami on this one. The purple bird headed logo with an italicized B on the back of the bird made its debut in 99 and over the last 27 years has become one of the best logos in the entire NFL.
And here’s where the fun begins. The Ravens went through their first uniform overhaul in 2000. While the bird logo was an instant success, they modernized the Ravens shield logo, and dumped the flying bird logo on the side of the jerseys. With that being said the shield was on the side of the jerseys now and the italicized B replaced the shield on the pants. What happens in Year 1 of those rebranded uniforms? “And the Ravens are the champions of the world! HALLELUJAH!” (They followed the 97 Broncos uniform formula to perfection) The next uniform wrinkle the Ravens would face came in 2004 with the white striped socks being replaced by black socks on both their home and away threads, and then came their first ever alternate uniform which has now become arguably the most intimidating look in the entire NFL. THE BLACKOUT! Darkness There And Nothing More. All black uniforms from head to toe with gold and purple trimmed numbers and a purple collar. In simpler terms this uniform has tormented plenty of opponents it has faced over the years especially Super Bowl Contenders. After the 10th Anniversary patch came in 2005, and going to black cleats in 2007, the next big change came in 2008. The Ravens brought back the White on Black combos worn in 96 and 97, and then debuted a Black jersey on White pants combo during a Sunday Night game against the Redskins that season (A game just like the first ever Blackout in 2004 where Ed Reed was a man amongst boys). The following year the Whiteout uniforms returned while they alternated back and forth with the White on Black combo for road games.
At the turn of the 2010s, the Ravens revived the Purple on Black combo which hadn’t been seen since 1996 (The game they brought that combo back turned out to be the game where Haloti Ngata broke Big Ben’s nose). This now meant that the Ravens had 6 different uniform combinations to choose from which at the time was unheard of. You wonder why it’s a joy for me to match what the players wear on gamedays. It’s because you never know what combo is going to be used from week to week. (I really hope that the Eagles will catch on to this in the near future because they too have a lot of good uniform combos that haven’t been used lately) 2012 came with two patches. One honoring Art Modell who passed away less than a week prior to the Monday Night game against Cincinnati to open the season, and of course they won Super Bowl XLVII come February 3 of 2013. “It’s never pretty, it’s never perfect, BUT IT IS US!” Three years later came the 20th Season patch and then the only uniform material that got instantly mocked by fans everywhere. THE GOLD PANTS! Not only were they hideously looking but the Ravens reflected those perfectly that day against Kansas City as their injury plagued squad was no match for the Chiefs outside of a Hail Mary to Kamar Aiken to end the 1st Half. Come 2016 the NFL debuted a uniform trend known as the Color Rush which saw teams wear the same colored jersey, pants, and socks in an attempt to boost merchandise sales. The Ravens solution was to have an all purple uniform with gold numbers and gold stripes on the purple pants which were also a first for the Ravens. In 2018 along came Lamar Jackson as well as purple pants with black and white striping. You thought 6-7 uniform combinations (Yes I’m moving my hands up and down as I speak thanks for asking) was crazy enough, try 10 of them. With all of them being good looking at the same time. In fact at this point they have almost as many uniform combos than their entire division COMBINED!
As the 2010s came to a close the Ravens took the Blackout games to new heights. In 2019 they expanded the all black look from the players and coaches to the fans. Meaning that during at least one home night game a season the entirety of M&T Bank Stadium would be dressed in black while enjoying a Blackout themed light show during player introductions which was a first of its kind for outdoor venues in the NFL. (Call it the NFL’s answer to the Penn State Whiteout) Finally in 2024 the Ravens unveiled their first ever alternate helmet to pair with their existing Color Rush uniforms. The Purple Rising helmet, or in other terms the Fantastic Terror Never Felt Before. It saw a metallic purple shell with gold talon lines, a gold face mask, and the front facing bird that features red eyes or as the Ravens marketing team once put it The Eyes of the Untold Raven which by the way hang over the right entrance tunnel in the East Endzone. And like the Blackout, it started a movement where the stadium would all be dressed in purple whenever the Purple Rising uniforms came out. So there you have it, the first 30 years of the Baltimore Ravens uniform history featuring 25 of them with a classical collection that was adored by players and fans alike. But if you know this franchise, they always seem to knock it out of the park when it comes to doing things with lots of creativity. So here lies the question. How do you make an already top tier uniform set and make them even better? THIS IS HOW!!!
(INTRODUCING THE NEXT GENERATION)
“BRACE YOURSELVES, SINCE WE HAVE GONE SO FAR WE CAN GO NO FARTHER. NOW IS THE TIME. THE FUTURE IS TO THOSE WHO TAKE IT. WHAT WE DO IN LIFE, ECHOES AN ETERNITY. STRUGGLE, SURVIVAL. WE WILL BE PERFECT IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE GAME. WILL! YOU! EVER! QUIT! NOOOOOOOO! RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. (BOOM!)”
First of all I have a hunch that the Ravens in addition to their new uniforms will also be getting a new entrance song during player introductions this year at M&T Bank Stadium. And ironically it just so happens to be Right Here Right Now by Fatboy Slim which their dreaded rivals in Pittsburgh used for their intros up until 2024. In other words this is payback for the Steelers adopting Where The Streets Have No Name as their intro song in 2025 which has been a constant at M&T since it opened in 1998. (All of my PSU friends who are Philly fans approve because that was the 76ers intro theme in the Allen Iverson Era) Now let’s get to the Next Flight uniforms. The first thing you will notice is that there is a collar design of Ravens wings on the jerseys which pays homage to the wings from their original Flying B logo which hasn’t been used since 1998. Then comes the pants which feature talon themed stripes that is similar to the design of the Calvert crest that is seen in both the Baltimore and Maryland flags (There’s also a diagonal cross cut which makes it even cooler to look at). The big thing that caught my eyes right away was the iridescent accents. A design that was first introduced to the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks last year in their Rivalry uniforms and was made famous by the Oregon Ducks in College Football (I wonder if Mike Macdonald told the Seahawks equipment people about this particular design, my guess is that he did). The Ravens meanwhile took those accents to the next level. And when I say that they are everywhere on these uniforms I mean everywhere. Jersey numbers, talon stripes on the pants, within the Ravens shield, and interestingly on the back collars of the jerseys which I think is kinda neat.
Another big eye opener is that the Ravens now have a darker shade of purple in this set than compared to the previous one. They call this Midnight Purple. Which mimics the iridescence of a Ravens feathers and features a color shifting material which is also a first of its kind. Meaning that it’ll be purple in bright lights and reveals a menacing black form when the lighting fades. So for example during like lets say the Ravens wearing Purple on Black for a 4:25 game late in the year and the lights are out during Enter Sandman in the 4th Quarter the jerseys will appear to be black until the lights come back on which is really cool. The white jerseys also stand out in a big way because for the first time in franchise history, the name on the front of a jersey will say Baltimore and not Ravens. But the Ravens outline will be used on the back color for those jerseys and those only while everything else has Baltimore on those collars. Inside those collars oh boy did they up their game with this one. For the purple and white jerseys the Play Like a Raven slogan is stitched while the black jerseys have the Darkness quote from Edgar Allan Poe. (Raven Bros: Whistling (US?)) Not you three rascals, the poet who wrote the Raven! Anyways, and then for the Color Rush jerseys the Purple Rising moniker returns. Oh yeah they kept the Purple Rising set which was absolutely a must. And here’s my favorite part about the Next Flight. The Ravens now have three different helmets to choose from. The classical black helmet with purple talons with the iconic logo is here to stay. While the Purple Rising one was updated with the main logo on the side which allows the helmet to be worn interchangeably with other combinations which you will hear from in just a second. AND FINALLY! THE MOST RADIOACTIVE ADDITION OF THE ENTIRE UNIFORM REBRAND! THE BLACKOUT HELMETS! (Raven Bros: Whistling (YAHOOOOOOO!)) You wonder why the front-facing Raven isn’t on the Purple Rising uniforms anymore; it’s because they wanted to throw hypothetical spike pits and a live dragon into the most intimidating setting in the entire NFL. Feast your eyes on this, an all black matte painted helmet with black talons, as well as the front facing bird being covered in black except for the aforementioned Eyes of the Untold Raven.
Now how many uniform combos are we going to see the Ravens use now that they can use the Classical and Purple Rising helmets an unlimited amount of times? Dare I say that there could be a different combo for every single game come the start of the 2026 season. We all know the Blackout and Purple Rising uniforms are in a class all to themselves. That part isn’t surprising. But I really like the Whiteout look with the Purple Rising helmet. (It also can be seen with the Classical one too) I know outsiders will say its similar look to that of the Vikings but I think that’s a great combo to have a massive night game on the road or if you want to have a Whiteout atmosphere for the Home Opener every year. (If it’s the latter, it potentially is a tease for the Rivalry uniforms which comes out for the Ravens in 2028) The Black on Purple aka the combo used at the Helmet Stripe Game will also be a fan favorite as it has been since its debut in 2018. And just like the Whiteout look the White on Purple look can be worn with either the Purple Rising helmet or the Classical helmet. (The regular All Purple look would also look good with the Purple Rising helmet) Not to mention the Purple on White combo can be worn with either black, white, or purple socks, the Purple on Black combo could see white socks ala the 1996 Throwbacks in addition to the black socks, and the same can be said about White on Black. Like I said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ravens had a different type of uniform combination for all 17 games which would not only set a new league standard but convince every hater of theirs that they care about how they look and being emotional more than winning on the field. And from how I see the latter isn’t going to happen. Because Jesse Minter made it very clear to the PSL owners who showed up at the Next Flight Launch Event in Columbia that this team will be reminiscent of great Ravens teams of the past with a hard nose in your face mentality while also adapting to the modern game at the same time. (Here’s a quick lesson for you Jesse; DON’T BRING UP TAYLOR SWIFT TO ANY DIEHARD RAVENS FAN! He learned that the hard way) He also pointed out that we will be at our best during the week leading up to games and most importantly WHEN EVERYTHING MATTERS! As I’ve stated before. This is the kind of mentality that the Ravens have been lacking since the Ray Lewis Era. I mean they’ve shown flashes of that in recent years but not the full package on a day in and day out basis. Now they want to go back to being the Bullies of Baltimore, the team nobody wants to face in big games, a team who is Relentless, Connected, and has a Never Say Die mindset every single day. This is certainly a fun and interesting time to be a Ravens fan. Even though this may be seen as the Great Unknown from those outside of Charm City, we see it as a way to get back to our roots. And if what the coaches said during their conversation with Peter Schrager at the Next Flight Launch Event is any indication they’re probably going either trenches or best player available at Pick 14. GET READY NFL! THE NEW LOOK RAVEN EMPIRE SHALL RISE UP TO THE MOMENT ONCE AGAIN!
Before we wrap up, the Ravens organization suffered another massive loss this offseason. In addition to a new coaching staff, new uniforms, and potentially a new entrance song during introductions, there will be a new radio voice on WBAL Radio and 98 Rock. Longtime play-by-play announcer Gerry Sandusky is retiring after 2 decades as the voice of the Ravens. And it has to be said that after all of the changes this offseason, this probably was the most painful one. Sandusky outside of Chuck Thompson is probably the most iconic voice in Baltimore Sports History. The passion he brought to the broadcast booth on gameday was a sight to behold. My dream job both growing up and as of right now was to be a sports broadcaster because of Sandusky. I admired him more than anyone else in that industry and it really isn’t that close. It wasn’t just the Ravens either. He did nightly sports updates for NBC 11 in Baltimore as well as Towson Men’s Basketball for a long time as well. (Him and Jay Francis covering 2131 back in 1995 was unforgettable) And unlike many broadcasters he retired relatively young and still at the top of his game. (Sandusky is only 64) The reasoning was because he and his wife are now grandparents and he wants to spend as much time with his family as possible, especially now that his kids are in their mid 20s. It also made sense because of the wear and tear of traveling around the country to call Ravens games for the amount of years that he did so. But to me what I appreciate the most about Sandusky was that despite him having the same name but spelled differently as the guy from the Penn State scandal in 2011 involving Joe Paterno, it never bothered him one bit. Gerry with a G still had the same passion for Baltimore Sports and mainly the Ravens as he ever did, and never considered changing his name because he still wanted to honor his late father John who was a longtime Offensive Line coach for the Baltimore Colts. He will be missed just like longtime PA Announcer Bruce Cunningham was after his retirement after the 2019 season, but as long as they find an excellent replacement I think they’ll still be in good hands even though it’ll take time to adjust. (Which Steve Bisciotti probably will) Enjoy your retirement Gerry. It was an honor getting to listen to you perfect your craft for so long. And I’ll leave you with the final words.
“The Ravens need help from above, they are out of timeouts, the clock is running, the Ravens have to snap it quickly from the gun. Denver rushes 3, Flacco steps up, throws deep far sideline Jacoby Jones, HAS IT AT THE 20! JACOBY JONES! TOUCHDOWN RAVENS!!! NO FLAGS ON THE PLAY! AND THE MIRACLE IS ANSWERED!”
Bragging Rights Sports 