[grantsrc]

I've tried to stay off this topic because of what happened the last time I brought up a rumor (think back to blue bean bags for Fed). I heard from several NCAA officials at a clinic this past March that the NFL will have new officials' uniforms. In fact, the new head of the NFLRA was in attendance at this clinic.

This is what I've heard. Reebok will now be the sole provider of uniforms for NFL officials. So anticipate their logo plastered everywhere, including on the side or back of the pants, hats, and shirts from what I remember. There will also be two styles of pants. They will go with the traditional knickers for fall games, and in cold weather, they will switch to a longer pant, much like many baseball players are wearing.

The biggest change will be the shirts. I've heard that the NFL is upset with the ripoff refs in the Miller Lite ads and other ads depicting officials in a negative light. So to get around this, since Reebok will only produce these shirts, advertisers will not have access to this new shirt, hence actors not looking like real NFL officials. The stripes will start off roughly 4 inches wide at the top and taper down towards the beltline into a point, much like a elongated triangle.

Again, this is what I've heard. We will see come early August if some of these changes take place. We've all heard the rumor about switching to black knickers for years so who knows, maybe this is just another example of the rumor mill going on wrong information.