Broncos unveil new uniforms for first time since 1997

Comments on social media sometimes can be harsh. So Broncos president Damani Leech was braced when he checked out the internet Monday.

The Broncos at 9 a.m. had revealed their much-anticipated new threads. It marks the first time the team has changed uniforms since 1997.

“We knew going into this that the feedback was going to be mixed,’’ Leech said at the team store at Empower Field at Mile High. “I’d say I was pleasantly surprised. (It’s) not mathematic at this point, but it certainly seems that more than half of the sentiment online has been positive. So, that’s been really exciting.”

The Broncos had put out a video Sunday in which eight players spoke glowingly of the new uniforms but that, of course, was a public-relations move. Yet fans visiting the team store Monday generally expressed their approval about the uniforms that come in nine primary combinations.

There also is a throwback combination, a nod to the pre-1997 uniforms, including when the “Orange Crush” Broncos made the Super Bowl for the first time in the 1977 season.

The Broncos had announced March 25 that the new Nike Mile High Collection would be coming. And on social media at 9 a.m. Monday the team put out a video that showed a Ford Bronco driving from the mountains of Colorado into Denver, where players are then shown modeling the new uniforms.

Shortly after that, a video was put out of star cornerback Pat Surtain II going to a downtown Denver store and being handed a throwback uniform by former star linebacker Randy Gradishar, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August and was on the 1977 team.

As previously announced, the Broncos did not change the team colors or the logo. The nine primary uniform combinations feature sunset orange jerseys at home, summit white jerseys on the road and midnight navy alternate jerseys that will be paired with interchangeable pants in the colors of white, orange and blue.

The sleeve caps of the jersey show a mountain peak created from the linework within the team’s logo. The undersleeve includes perforated triangles that pay tribute to summit markers of high Colorado peaks.

The helmets are metallic satin and will be navy both at home and away while there also will be a white alternate one. The helmets feature a strip of triangle clusters from the base of the helmets to the middle of the crown. On the front of the helmet is written “5280,” a nod to Denver’s mile-high elevation.

“This is an incredibly momentous day for us here and in Broncos history,’’ Leech said. “After 27 years, we are introducing a full uniform, or closet, rebrand. … This is a project that we have worked on since really 2022. It was a labor of love across the entire organization.”

The process started in the fall of 2022, when the Broncos sent out surveys and received more than 10,000 back. Leech said three-quarters of the respondents wanted new uniforms.

Leech said the Broncos wanted “something that was authentic” to the Rocky Mountain region. That includes a stripe on the side of the pants that features sharp edges as a nod to high peaks, the triangles and the “5280” on the helmet that Leech said is to “make sure our opponents remembered” when they are playing games in Denver.

“I like (the uniforms), actually,’’ said store visitor Kevin Bornhofen, 26, of Denver. “The triangles don’t bother me. I know a lot of people aren’t huge fans of those, but I think they’re kind of cool. I like the throwbacks the best.”

The throwbacks feature an orange jersey with white pants and a blue helmet with a red stripe and two white stripes running down the middle. The helmet features the iconic “D” logo from yesteryear with a fierce, snorting horse.

NFL rules permit Denver to wear either the throwbacks or the alternate jerseys for a total of three games in 2024. Leech, who said the Broncos didn't consider making the throwbacks a primary uniform, said they will begin to consider their options after the schedule comes out in May.

So far, only four replica jerseys of players are available at the team store in No. 2 Surtain, No. 14 Courtland Sutton, No. 19 Marvin Mims Jr. and No. 33 Javonte Williams, and they sell for $150. Jerseys of more players will be unveiled at a later time.

Also available so far in the Mile High Collection are a replica helmet ($249.99), a mini helmet ($44.99), a letterman-type jacket ($299.99), a hoodie ($139.99), a “5280” T-shirt ($64.99) and a ball cap ($34.99).

“They’re all right,’’ Stevan Kane, 45, of Denver, a Broncos season-ticket holder, said of the new uniforms. “They could be worse. … They’re not bad. They’re all right. Anything new, it takes time to warm up to them.”

And as fans look to get used to the new uniforms, you better believe Leech will be paying close attention