Nike NFL Uniforms: Why Now Is the Best Time for Apparel Giant to Take over Unis

After 10 years of Reebok, the NFL will finally up its style game by changing uniform and apparel sponsorship, adding Nike and New Era to replace Reebok and Adidas.

Fans all over the country are excited—in New England, this Patriots fan can hardly wait:

"

The new uniform for the nfl so tuff ..thank.god they gave reebok.the boot and sign wit nike that patriots jersey so tuff

"

First announced in 2010, this shakeup at the NFL apparel headquarters is just what the league needs to catch up with the world of sports style. Several big-name NCAA schools started going with Nike years ago.

Case in point: The University of Oregon.

It comes as no shock that the Beaverton, Oregon company (Nike) is the official supplier of the Eugene, Oregon school and with uniforms like these, who can blame 'em? The Ducks are, according to the Wall Street Journal, the third best-dressed team in the nation, behind Michigan and Maryland.

When the Chicago Tribune posted fake renderings of what Nike Pro Combat uniforms might look like in 2012, it was a false tease that had "epic" written all over.

Though we will have to wait until April 3 to see the true new Nike unis, the NFL has already upped its fan-swagger tenfold with that grand moneymaking scheme known as merchandising.

Flikr user PermanentRecord posted 15 sneak peak snapshots to the Yahoo! photo service, prominently featuring Nike's fan tee shirts and New Era's fan ball caps.

With some great emphasis on branding—much of the Nike apparel features the company's "Just Do It" slogan—the new swag isn't afraid to stray from the conventional. Each NFL team will have a graphics masterpiece, much like this one: 

Though one shirt alone isn't enough for me to change my citizenship and join Raider Nation, that is an awesome design. Depicting a fist clutched around the face mask of the helmet, the shirt hearkens back to every season's opening day, when anything is possible and every team has a shot to win it all.

Uniforms and apparel for on-field personnel debut April 3—stay tuned for the big reveal.