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In a sternly-worded memo that squarely blamed Nike for baseball’s controversial new uniforms, the MLB Players Association told players on Sunday that changes would be coming to both the jerseys and the pants.
The redesigned uniforms have drawn criticism this year from players and fans who felt the lettering was too small, the fit had changed, and the quality of the logos/patches had worsened. In a memo to players, a copy of which was viewed by Sportico, the MLBPA said the fiasco was “entirely avoidable,” and that both the uniforms and pants would be altered prior to the start of next season.
“This has been entirely a Nike issue,” the memo said. “At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”
The memo also criticized Nike’s response to the almost-immediate backlash, which it characterized as: “Nothing to see here. Players will need to adjust.”
It’s rare for a league partner, especially one as prominent and large as Nike (NYSE: NKE), to be so openly criticized. A representative for Nike didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for MLB, which partnered with Nike back in 2019, declined to comment.
The MLBPA memo also absolved Fanatics, which makes the uniforms for Nike and has been roundly criticized in the last few months for its perceived involvement in the new product. Fanatics manufactures the jerseys in the same Pennsylvania facility that has been making MLB uniforms for more than decade, a holdover of its 2017 acquisition of prior MLB jersey partner Majestic.
“Fanatics has been, and continues to be, a great partner with the Players and has been making the uniforms for the last eight years without issue,” the memo said. “Fanatics recognizes the vital important of soliciting Player feedback, obtaining player buy-in, and not being afraid to have difficult conversations about jerseys or trading cards.” (Fanatics-owned Topps brand is an MLBPA partner in trading cards, and the union holds equity in Fanatics).
Regarding the jerseys, the memo says the lettering will return to the larger size used in previous years, and that Nike has committed to working on color differences and “perspiration challenges.” For the pants, the memo says players will have the full suite of tailoring options available in prior years—the new design had four base sizes of pants—and a return to “higher quality” zippers.
The Nike uniforms that debuted this season have been in the works for six years and were worn last year in MLB’s All-Star Game. While some players were able to test the newer versions and provide feedback, MLBPA head Tony Clark told Sportico in February that the union hadn’t been meaningfully involved since 2022. He added that the MLBPA “had concerns” about the uniforms back then.