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The MLB-Nike Uniform Uproar: Finding Transparency and a Good Fit

eben novy-williams and barry m. bloom
·8 min read

MLB Spring Training is officially underway, but the league’s dominant story so far has been its new Nike-designed uniforms, which have drawn criticism from players and online mockery from fans.

The critiques range from fit and material, to fabric transparency and tiny lettering. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has weighed in, as has MLBPA head Tony Clark. The discourse has also ensnared Fanatics, which manufactures the uniforms as part of a three-way agreement with Nike and MLB that dates back to 2018.

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Nike has called them the “most advanced” uniforms in MLB history, while Angels outfielder Taylor Ward told The Athletic they “look like a replica.” Phillies infielder Trea Turner told the Associated Press that “everyone hates them.”

Like almost every viral controversy nowadays, the story spread quickly on social media (and in MLB clubhouses) before many facts were known. Over the past few days, Sportico has spoken with multiple people at various stages of the process. Below are some quick notes from those conversations, including a look at how the jerseys were tested, the frustration of baseball’s players union, and why no one should expect any wholesale changes to the product moving forward.

The Backstory

The new Nike uniforms have been in the works since 2018, the same year that Nike, Fanatics and MLB agreed to their current partnership, which itself had an unusual genesis: In 2016, Under Armour and Fanatics had a deal in place to take the contract from Majestic when it expired before the 2020 season. That Under Armour deal fell apart, but Fanatics bought Majestic in 2017 and Nike swooped in a year later to commit to a similar three-way partnership.

The current agreement, which runs through the 2029 season, allows Nike and Fanatics to focus primarily on their own strengths. Nike handles the prototyping, the design and the marketing; Fanatics handles the sewing, the decorating and the manufacturing. Part of what MLB especially liked about the setup was its continuity. Because Fanatics owns Majestic, all of Nike’s on-field uniforms are manufactured in the same facility that had already been making them for more than a decade. That’s still true today.

Nike didn’t want to dramatically overhaul the on-field jerseys immediately, sources said, so it kept the uniforms largely same over the first few years of its deal and quietly prepped for what became this year’s redesign. Of note, the new uniforms were originally slated to make their debut last season, but that was pushed back due to COVID, sources said. It’s also worth noting that while the jerseys have been planned for six years, MLBPA head Tony Clark told Sportico that the union hadn’t been meaningfully involved in the process since 2022 (more on that below).

Nike said in a statement that the uniforms are the “most advanced” in MLB history, and that it will continue to work with the league, the players and Fanatics to address the controversy.

The Process

Over the past few years, Nike scanned the bodies of more than 300 MLB players to get a better sense of body shape and uniform requirements, sources said. Versions of these uniforms were then tested by some active MLB players. The roughly 80 players who took part in last year’s All-Star Game festivities wore them, and multiple clubs tested them for bullpen sessions last season after they were eliminated from playoff contention.

Earlier this week, MLB.com published a story with satisfied quotations from players after the 2023 All-Star Game. “It feels more fit on your body, and how light it is,” pitcher Kenley Jansen said. “It’s kind of like the NBA type of jerseys. It’s cool.”

The Changes

The new designs made notable changes to both the jerseys and the pants, according to people familiar with the process. Nike designed the new jersey tops to be lighter, more breathable and more stretchy, the people said, and those three priorities created one of the most criticized aspects of the new uniforms. It forced a change to the size and material of the names and numbers on the back of the jerseys, they said.

As for the pants, the material and thickness is the same as in prior years, the sources said, but Nike did shift the way they were sized. Previous uniforms were developed and fitted like pants that any civilian might purchase, with a set waist and length, then the ability to tailor and re-sew areas around the legs and seat based on specific body shapes and preferences. The new Nike designs, leaning on the company’s scans of those 300-plus players, created four customs “buckets” of waist-to-thigh ratios, the people said.

This year players can choose their length and waist, then choose between four different thigh widths based off the waist size. That change has also drawn criticism. In years past, players could get their pants custom tailored to fit; now they are being asked to fit into one of four sizes, pre-chosen as a ratio off the waist measurement. Nike’s belief, it appears, is that the vast majority of players will find their preferred sizes within those four buckets, without the need for hand tailoring and re-sewing of thousands of uniforms.

Much of the online mockery from fans has focused on the “diaper” look from official team photos, where the low hem of the tucked-in jersey is visible through the top of the pants. If the pants are the same material and thickness as prior years, why is transparency suddenly an issue? Sportico asked that question, and was told by more than one person that prior years’ photos showed a similar phenomenon. One source shared multiple photos from 2023 Spring Training where jersey bottoms and pocket linings were visible through the pants.

The Union

While some players were able to test the uniforms and provide feedback, the players union says it has been largely in the dark. Clark told Sportico on Friday that the MLBPA hasn’t been involved in the process since 2022, the last time that it had a chance to view the jerseys and pants “up close and personal.” He said the union offered specific feedback at that time.

“The last time we met in 2022 we offered and laid out our concerns about the jerseys, but very specifically about the pants if that path continued,” Clark said shortly after meeting with the Kansas City Royals in Surprise, Ariz. “And so, here we are.”

Clark also drew a distinction between the union’s authority in regard to uniforms, and its own licensing agreements with Fanatics and Nike for fan gear. The off-field product deals provide the MLBPA with an opportunity to consult and weigh in, he said.

A representative for MLB declined to respond to Clark’s comments.

Clark said he hopes the uniform changes don’t have to be addressed by reopening the collective bargaining agreement. MLB locked the players out for 99 days two years before both sides agreed during spring training of 2022 on a new Basic Agreement that expires after the 2026 season.

The two sides have opened the agreement mid-term before, most specifically to increase penalties in the joint drug agreement. There were also major health and safety issues dealing with the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. MLB implemented a 60-game schedule without fans in the stands in 2020, without agreement from the union.

“I’d like to think we can work our way through this [uniform issue] in the best interest of all involved independent of language in a CBA,” Clark said. “This is more a reflection of what the league and Nike were interested in. I’m confident we can resolve these issues as we have in the past as long as the fit is OK.”

Fanatics’ Role

Michael Rubin’s company is the largest online seller of licensed sports merchandise, and while the bulk of its product is fan-facing, Fanatics manufactures the official on-field Nike jerseys in both the NFL and MLB. There’s been speculation about whether the uniform uproar is a result of manufacturing, not design, but MLB’s vice president of global consumer products, Stephen Roche, told Sportico in an interview the product delivered to players was the exact product Nike and MLB intended to deliver to players.

In the online uproar, however, Fanatics appears to be taking more flak than Nike. One possible explanation: Fanatics is often the target of online anger from fans upset over the company’s off-field products. Sometimes those critiques stem from mistakes of its own doing, and sometimes by mistakes made by others. It seems possible that Fanatics is taking extra heat this month not because of anything specific it did with these new MLB uniforms, but rather due to fan sentiment related to other products.

A representative for Fanatics declined to comment.

What’s Next?

So what happens now? Likely nothing drastic.

There are around 1,300 players across 30 teams, and some teams have five different uniforms (Home, Road, City Connect, Alternate #1 and Alternate #2). Players also have multiple versions of each. Making drastic changes across the whole line is a big undertaking, but more important, there doesn’t appear to be much belief that major changes are necessary. “After people wear them a little bit,” Manfred said last week, “I think they’re going to be really popular.”

Roche, who spent 17 years at Majestic before joining MLB, said the priority right now is walking players through the changes and what’s available. “We’re going clubhouse to clubhouse with the Fanatics/Nike fittings teams and educating players on the changes made to enhance their performance on field,” he said.

Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, who started San Diego’s first spring training game, said he was comfortable wearing a new brown top, but last season’s pants.

“You can complain all you want about the pants,” he said, “but you’ve got to go out play baseball and deal with it.”

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