Rams’ “brand refresh” highlights the NFL’s jersey churn, and why longtime fans keep noticing

With Los Angeles set to roll out another update to its visual identity, the debate is less about color palettes and more about how often franchises reinvent themselves for sales.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The Los Angeles Rams are preparing what they call a “brand refresh,” an additional change to their visual identity expected to arrive next week. For a franchise that has already cycled through multiple uniform and alternate looks in recent years, the update is also a reminder of a broader NFL pattern: teams are increasingly treated like retail brands, with jersey variations and design tweaks built into the business model.

In an opinion piece published by Yahoo Sports, the author argues the Rams should stop changing uniforms so frequently, pointing specifically to updates in 2016, 2020, and a “modern throwbacks” direction that arrived in 2021. The criticism lands on the idea that constant evolution can dilute what fans recognize as a team’s core look, especially when new designs are positioned as the next step in identity rather than an occasional nod to history.

The same piece frames those changes as part of a league environment that has made jersey collecting feel closer to “fast fashion,” where novelty can become the product. It notes that the Rams have used not only main uniform variations, but also alternate options and themed looks, including a 2025 “rivalries” uniform tied to a league-wide initiative aimed at increasing merchandise sales.

Yahoo also describes recent, smaller modifications to the Rams’ uniforms, including road-uniform adjustments in 2022, and it says the franchise will add two additional alternates in 2026. Taken together, the underlying point is that even when the changes are incremental, fans can experience them as a steady drumbeat of redesigns rather than one clear, stable identity they can anchor to across seasons.

The Rams’ move into the next phase of their relocation back to California is part of the timing, according to the coverage. The franchise’s return to the West Coast has already come with its own chapter in visual branding, but the argument here is that the Rams are now writing too many new pages at once, leaving less room for continuity to build emotional attachment.

There is an important caveat to keep in mind: details of the coming “brand refresh” beyond its existence and the stated framing as the next evolution of the team’s visual identity are not included in the portion of reporting available here. Until the Rams publish official images and the league or team explains the exact scope, it is reasonable to treat this as a design timeline question rather than a roster or on-field one.

For fans and team historians, the practical question is what will be treated as “the” Rams look going forward. If the franchise keeps stacking alternates while also revising the base identity, the team risks training supporters to wait for the next iteration, rather than rallying around a consistent visual identity through the regular season and into the postseason. That tension, between commerce and tradition, is the core story line in the coverage.

Next up, the most immediate thing to watch is how the Rams position the new designs in their official rollout: whether the refresh is presented as a replacement for prior elements, an expanded set of alternates, or a harmonized blend meant to settle lingering design debates. The more the team leans on selling novelty, the more likely this conversation will continue, not only for the Rams but across the league.

Why It Matters

Uniform stability affects how fans connect to a team’s identity across seasons, especially when designs change faster than eras can form meaning.
Alternate-heavy branding can shift fan behavior toward collecting new versions rather than treating one set of uniforms as the franchise standard.
League-wide merchandising initiatives can encourage uniform churn even when team-level history would argue for continuity.
When a franchise repeatedly refreshes its look, it can complicate how eras are remembered, from throwback moments to which designs define the current decade.

Sources

Key Facts

Los Angeles is expected to unveil a Rams “brand refresh” next week tied to the team’s evolving visual identity.
The criticism in the coverage points to uniform evolutions in 2016 and 2020, and a “modern throwbacks” direction in 2021.
The piece argues the Rams have continued to add alternates and themed uniform options, including a 2025 “rivalries” uniform associated with a league-wide merchandising initiative.
The coverage says road-uniform tweaks occurred in 2022 and that two additional alternates are planned for 2026.
The broader framing is that the NFL has turned jersey novelty into a sales driver, likened to “fast fashion.”