Did you notice that the Reebok logo on Calvin Johnson’s uniform has been blurred out? Nike recently took over as the NFL’s uniform provider and immediately played hardball with Reebok over the sale of Tim Tebow jerseys that Reebok rushed to the market at the end of their deal.

The blurring of the Reebok logo doesn’t appear to be a league-wide initiative so my guess is that someone in the Lions did it on their own – perhaps as an offering of goodwill while they discuss an alternate uniform with Nike. It should be noted that the Nike logo on CJ’s glove remains so this isn’t a full effort to remove other logos from the ad.

This isn’t the first time some curiosities have occured with the season ticket ad landing page. An image of Calvin Johnson was replaced by an image of Jim Schwartz when the NFL lockout began last Spring. The ad was updated to feature Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh when the lockout ended.

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Nov. 25, 2010; Detroit, MI, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) gets sacked by Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90). Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand revealed today that the Lions will not be wearing throwback uniforms this Thanksgiving but that the team is in discussions with Nike regarding a third uniform.

What that third uniform could be is anyone’s guess but anything could be on the table if things are just in the “discussion” phase. The NFL limits each team to one alternate so any final decision has an impact on whether or not we see the Lions in their beautifully simple throwbacks that they wore most recently on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

A poll that ran on this site last summer gave fans the option to pick their preference between seeing the Lions wear their throwbacks on Thanksgiving or bringing back the black uniforms for Monday Night Football. Of course, neither happened in reality but the fan vote was nearly split with a small minority that voted in favor of the regular uniforms for all eight home games.

Could Nike be cooking up a redesign of the black uniforms? It’s possible and releasing those into the marketplace would figure to have a larger impact on jersey sales than adopting the throwbacks as the alternate.

Even though the Lions won’t have an alternate for the upcoming season it would be surprising if they didn’t have something for 2013 – why would Lewand even admit to discussing it with Nike if they weren’t sure something would eventually become official?

Personally, I’d like to see the third uniform be an old school throwback but a more convincing effort. You’ll notice in the picture embedded in this post that the “throwback” helmet looks stunningly similar to the helmets they wear every week – minus the decals. There is nothing throwback about that black facemask.

Photo courtesy of Nike

Nike’s uniform unveiling a couple weeks ago got a lot of publicity so it stands to figure that they’ll see a flood of orders from fans wanting get the newest jersey designs.

For those that have been waiting, good news. Nike is taking pre-orders beginning today.

Lions fans will initially have to types to choose from. The basic jersey is being galled the “game jersey”. This will have screen printed numbers with the only features noted being a “no-tag neck label for clean comfort” and a “tailored fit designed for movement”. The price is $100.

Nike is also giving fans the opportunity to buy what the players will be wearing. The “elite jersey” sells for $250 and gives you everything from the flywire neck to water-repelling fabric.

A third option will be available in June. The $135 “limited jersey”. This edition won’t use water-repelling fabric but does have the flywire neck and twill, rather than screen printed, numbers. Why is it not available until June? My guess is because this jersey looks like the best buy of the three choices, therefore it makes sense to hold it back until the initial rush of orders passes.

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