NFL fans expecting to see the ridiculously colored “Color Rush” uniforms during Thursday Night Football this season appear to be in for a rude awakening.
According to sports radio guru Jason Barrett of Barrett Sports Media, Fox Sports EVP of Programming, Research and Content Strategy Bill Wanger said that the Color Rush uniforms would be going in the bin this season, claiming they were a “gimmick” that wouldn’t be needed to entice fans to watch this year, with a stronger schedule of games instead providing the lure.
Bill Wanger of FOX Sports says alternate uniforms on Thursday Night Football are going away. Hardcore fans don’t need gimmicks to watch. The game schedule will also be stronger. #NABShow
— Barrett Sports Media (@BSMStaff) April 10, 2018
Let’s be honest here Bill – I don’t think any fans really were tuning into Thursday Night Football to see the Detroit Lions look like this.
The NFL hasn’t confirmed Wanger’s statement.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the Color Rush uniforms might *not* be going away completely, but might no longer be exclusively worn on Thursday nights. Also, ownership hasn’t voted on the proposal yet.
On color rush, the uniforms aren't going away completely. It's just that they might not be exclusive to Thursday nights anymore, sources say. Could be some other tweaks to the uniform policy as well. Also, this is subject to votes from ownership.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 10, 2018
Whatever happens with the uniforms, the NFL can’t claim that the Color Rush promotion went unnoticed. Some colorblind fans had issues when watching Color Rush games, while other teams openly rebelled at wearing the uniforms and broadcasters criticized them. The league eventually gave teams that didn’t like their Color Rush uniforms a way out, and it appears the plug will be fully pulled on this experiment heading into the 2018 season.
