The worst Detroit sports uniform from every pro team

Christian Romo, Detroit Free PressThu, Jul 2, 2026·4 min read

Detroit's pro sports teams have some pretty iconic uniforms, from the winged wheel of the Detroit Red Wings, to the old English D of the Detroit Tigers to the Honolulu blue of the Detroit Lions.

But for every classic jersey from a Motown team, there is at least one gathering dust in the back of a closet – and not because it's a cherished item.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

There have been some duds in the Detroit sports uniform rotation, with misguided color schemes, wacky logos, unfortunate throwbacks and sleeves where they are not supposed to be (looking at you, Pistons). If it weren't for these bad uniforms, we might not be able to cherish the brilliant ones quite as much.

But as painful as it might be to revisit these sartorial tragedies, let's do it, anyway.

Here are the worst jerseys from every major Detroit men's pro team (excluding the Red Wings, because we honestly couldn't find one to call bad).

LOOKIN' GOOD: The best-ever uniforms from every Detroit pro sports team

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Tigers: 2024-present City Connects

Swing and a miss.

The Tigers debuted their highly-anticipated City Connect jerseys in 2024, and they haven't exactly been a hit. The black-and-blue color scheme doesn't scream "automotive industry," even if the carefully hidden VIN number and the less-carefully hidden highway sign on the sleeve are supposed to pay homage to the Motor City.

That's the best part of the uniform, by the way – "Motor City" across the chest was a slam dunk, even if the quasi Star Trek font is more reminiscent of spaceships than Model Ts. But by far the worst part is the hat. Not even a downtown tourist shop would sell a hat that ridiculous looking.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

The Tigers seemed to have rectified the situation by introducing two alternate jerseys this past offseason, both of which score much higher than the City Connect jersey. But for whatever reason, the Tigers still insist on occasionally breaking out these duds. Banish them, we say.

The NFL's color rush uniforms would likely show up on many "worst" lists for various NFL teams, but Detroit's color rush attempt in 2017 was especially egregious.

Grey may be a color (technically), but it certainly isn't a Lions color, as demonstrated by the clashing silver helmets the Lions wear with their traditional unis. At least the Lions all-black uniforms from the past two seasons have an accompanying helmet that matches, truly elevating what an alternate jersey can bring to the field.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

But even if the color rush uniforms came with a matching grey helmet, they would still look pretty bad. The best thing that can be said about them is that they are bland, and you have virtually zero chance of seeing a fan wearing one of these in or around Ford Field.

Pistons: 2019-20 City Edition

Remember when the NBA tried to get us all to buy sleeved jerseys in the mid 2010s? And how the Pistons wore a sleeved "Motor City" jersey that used the wrong shade of blue, the wrong shade of red and looked like a shirt for rec league?

The red City Edition uniform is somehow way worse than that.

The brightness of Detroit's red lends itself much better as a secondary color, as it's way too bright and harsh to be the featured color on a basketball uniform. The double stripe down the middle serves no purpose and looks to be the only idea the designers had for this uniform. And did we mention how red it is?

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

These uniforms were shelved after one season, and while the Pistons tried a red City Edition uniform again a couple of years later, they haven't gone back since. A wise decision.

In a vacuum, Detroit City's 2025 away kits aren't bad. The lines are clean, the crest keeps its gold sheen and teams are allowed to take a break from their standard color combinations every once in a while.

But green just doesn't feel right for this team. If it were a lighter green to match the Spirit of Detroit, then maybe the connection to the city would have been strong enough to merit a second look. Forest green, however, just feels like too far a diversion from a team that wears red so well.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Disagree with our rankings? Let us know.

Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports! 

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The worst Detroit sports uniform from every pro team

Lions: 2017 Color Rush