The 2026 NFL Rivalries jersey class belongs to all eight teams in the NFC North and AFC South: the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. Each club will debut its Nike-designed alternate in one designated home game against a division rival, and the uniform then remains in that team's rotation for three years. Jerseys and related fan gear are scheduled to go on sale September 1, 2026, through official league, Nike, Fanatics and team retail channels. Below is the complete announced game list, a design-by-design guide and practical buying advice. Because kickoff and television details can change, confirm the latest information on the live 2026 NFL schedule before game day.
2026 NFL Rivalries uniform schedule at a glance
Indianapolis gets the first on-field reveal in Week 3, while Chicago closes the new class on Christmas Day. The schedule below reflects the league announcement and current broadcast assignments as of August 26. All times are Eastern. A useful detail that short social posts often miss: the listed team is the home team wearing its new 2026 Rivalries uniform; the visitor does not automatically wear its own alternate.
| New uniform team | Rivalries game | Date and time (ET) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | vs. Houston Texans, Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 27, 1:00 p.m. | CBS |
| Green Bay Packers | vs. Chicago Bears, Week 5 | Sunday, Oct. 11, 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| Detroit Lions | vs. Minnesota Vikings, Week 8 | Sunday, Nov. 1, 1:00 p.m. | FOX |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | vs. Indianapolis Colts, Week 8 | Sunday, Nov. 1, 1:00 p.m. | CBS |
| Tennessee Titans | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 10 | Sunday, Nov. 15, 1:00 p.m. | FOX |
| Houston Texans | vs. Indianapolis Colts, Week 11 | Thursday, Nov. 19, 8:15 p.m. | Prime Video |
| Minnesota Vikings | vs. Detroit Lions, Week 15 | Sunday, Dec. 20, 8:20 p.m. | NBC |
| Chicago Bears | vs. Green Bay Packers, Week 16 | Friday, Dec. 25, 1:00 p.m. | Netflix |
The table also reveals the rollout strategy. The opening six games cover each AFC South team and two NFC North teams before Minnesota and Chicago receive late-season national windows. Fans planning travel should treat the uniform announcement as confirmation of the intended kit, not protection against every scheduling adjustment. Check the appropriate live week page—such as Week 3, Week 8, Week 11 or Week 16—and the NFL TV schedule close to kickoff.
One more distinction prevents a common misunderstanding. Green Bay wears its new uniform when Chicago visits in Week 5, and Chicago wears its own when Green Bay visits in Week 16. That produces two separate visual events, not a guaranteed head-to-head alternate matchup. The league has announced a true dual-Rivalries game elsewhere in Week 16—Seattle versus Los Angeles—but both of those designs come from the returning 2025 class.
NFC North designs: Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings
The NFC North set is not one shared visual formula. Each team starts from a different piece of identity: Chicago's archive, Detroit's car-and-predator imagery, Green Bay's community ownership and Minnesota's northern mythology. That variety makes the details more useful than a simple best-to-worst list.
Chicago Bears: heritage made louder
Chicago uses a navy jersey with orange numerals outlined in white, orange pants and an orange helmet. The club says the numeral treatment looks back to 1948, while the vertical sleeve striping reworks a three-stripe element that has appeared in Bears uniforms since the early 1930s. A replica of the 1983 memorial patch for George Halas and a hidden “Monsters of the Midway” collar inscription push the concept deeper than a color swap. The four Chicago stars on the rear bumper connect the helmet to the city as well as the franchise. In practical terms, this will read as the boldest orange-heavy Bears combination when Green Bay visits. See the complete Chicago Bears schedule before planning the Christmas game.
Detroit Lions: Defend the Den
Detroit's white jersey puts “DETROIT” across the chest and pairs Honolulu blue with black, a combination the club describes through the image of a lion locking onto prey. Carbon-fiber texture in the decals nods to the city's automotive and racing culture, while italicized numbers create a forward-motion effect. The “Defend the Den” identity is more than a slogan printed onto an ordinary away look: it is the organizing idea connecting Ford Field, the city name and the darker edge around the familiar blue. Fans comparing this kit with Detroit's regular rotation should focus on the black outlining, racing references and chest treatment. The designated appearance is listed on the Detroit Lions schedule.
Green Bay Packers: ownership on the uniform
Green Bay uses desaturated vintage green with alabaster pants and a matching matte helmet. The unusual neutral shade is meant to recall aged Packers stock certificates, and the numbers use an engraved treatment inspired by paper currency. That makes public ownership—the feature that separates Green Bay from every other NFL franchise—the core design material. A modern interpretation of an older interlocking GB mark appears on the chest, “Go Pack Go” sits on the helmet and the inside collar reads “Making History Since 1919.” These are small details, but together they make the Week 5 Bears game feel tied to both fan stewardship and the league's oldest continuous rivalry. Follow the matchup on the Green Bay Packers schedule.
Minnesota Vikings: armor, ritual and all-over purple
Minnesota takes the most textural route. The club describes references to Viking armor, iron, wood and stone, plus the Gjallarhorn, longship imagery, the classic horned helmet and game-day rituals such as the Skol Drum. From a distance, the all-over purple presentation is intentionally unified; the storytelling becomes clearer at close range, where material effects and embedded symbols can be seen. That difference matters to buyers: a replica viewed online may emphasize color, while the premium product photography should reveal more of the texture. The kit appears against Detroit in Week 15, and the Minnesota Vikings schedule is the right place to verify the final kickoff details.
AFC South designs: Texans, Colts, Jaguars and Titans
The AFC South collection leans more heavily into city nicknames and physical materials. Houston builds a civic collage, Indianapolis turns a stadium ritual into metal and motion, Jacksonville revisits the franchise's origin, and Tennessee translates Nashville signage and music into a striping system.
Houston Texans: the HOUSTON/US city collage
Houston's Liberty White base is accented with H-Town Blue and Battle Red. The team says the concept draws from the blue-and-white street tiles that function as early local street art, the “Be Someone” bridge and Houston's custom-car culture. Those references make the look city-first without abandoning the Texans' current color vocabulary. At a glance, the pale palette and blue numbers will carry the visual identity; closer views should reveal how the typography and surface details turn local infrastructure into uniform graphics. The Thursday night setting against Indianapolis should help the lighter kit stand out under stadium lights. For any game-status change, use the Houston Texans schedule.
Indianapolis Colts: Anvil Strike
The Colts' dark anthracite jersey represents anvil steel, paired with a high-shine metallic-blue helmet and reflective accents meant to suggest sparks from a strike. Angled shoulder striping and horseshoe-inspired grommets update familiar Colts geometry without discarding the classic number style. The club also says a silver horseshoe is integrated into the jersey design for the first time, while “For the Shoe” appears inside the collar and “INDY” marks the helmet bumper. This is the class's clearest material metaphor: steel, shine and impact all point back to the anvil struck before Colts home games. It also supplies the first 2026 on-field debut, so follow the Indianapolis Colts schedule for the Sept. 27 matchup.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Bold City and 1995
Jacksonville pairs a white jersey and black pants with the element most likely to register immediately on television: a teal-gloss helmet with a gold facemask. The helmet carries a “904” reference to the local area code, and the kit uses a “Since '95” collar inscription to honor the franchise's inaugural season. The number styling also looks back to the team's 1995 identity, while script lettering and the “Fortune Favors the Bold” idea frame Jacksonville as the Bold City. The combination is less about inventing a new color than putting teal at eye level and tying it to a young franchise's first chapter. The Jacksonville Jaguars schedule lists the Week 8 Colts visit.
Tennessee Titans: Music City in six strings
Tennessee's set uses a Titans Blue helmet over navy jersey and pants, with a “Music City” script across the chest. Neon-inspired numbers reference Nashville's signs, while a rhythmic six-string stripe down the pants converts a guitar into a functional football design element. Those choices are readable at two distances: the bright number treatment works from the stands, and the string motif rewards closer product photography. The kit also arrives in a season when Tennessee has refreshed its broader uniform identity, so buyers should distinguish the Rivalries jersey from the regular home light-blue option. The designated Jacksonville game appears on the Tennessee Titans schedule.
Taken together, the AFC South designs answer the same brief in four different ways. Houston maps public space, Indianapolis dramatizes a ritual object, Jacksonville elevates its area code and founding year, and Tennessee makes music visible. Those ideas are official inspiration; deciding which execution is strongest remains a matter of taste—and will be easier after all four are seen in actual game lighting.
How the NFL Rivalries program works in 2026
Rivalries is a staged league-wide rollout rather than an annual replacement of every team's primary uniform. The AFC East and NFC West introduced the first eight designs in 2025. The NFC North and AFC South add eight in 2026, the NFC East and AFC West follow in 2027, and the AFC North and NFC South complete the 32-team rollout in 2028. Fans can use the NFL team schedule directory to separate a club's designated showcase from its other divisional games.
For a launch team, the basic 2026 formula is one selected home game against a division rival. After its debut, the design remains part of that club's uniform lineup for three years alongside other alternates. “In the rotation” does not mean it will be worn in every rivalry game, nor does it guarantee the same opponent every season. It means the club retains an approved option; the team and league still identify the actual appearance.
The eight 2025 launch teams also return in their designs during selected 2026 games. That is why there are more Rivalries appearances this season than the eight new-uniform dates in the first table. The most important exception is Rams at Seahawks in Week 16: the NFL identifies it as the first dual-Rivalries matchup, with both clubs wearing their returning designs. That special announcement should not be generalized to Bears-Packers, Colts-Texans or any other game.
For fans, the practical rule is simple: look for a team announcement tied to a specific home date, then verify that matchup on the NFL schedule this week when it approaches. The uniform is a planned event layer; the live schedule remains the authority for kickoff status and broadcast changes.
When and where the 2026 jerseys go on sale
The announced retail release date is September 1, 2026. The NFL identifies NFL Shop, Nike, Fanatics, individual team stores and selected retail locations as official channels, with additional availability through international NFL Shop sites and selected international retailers. Team announcements from Indianapolis and Green Bay also confirm their own online and stadium pro shops. The launch extends beyond jerseys to related fan and sideline apparel.
That broad distribution does not mean every store will carry every player, size or product tier at launch. None of the reviewed official announcements provides one universal price table or promises identical inventory across channels. Treat a social-media product image as a design preview, not proof that the exact cut shown will be sold in your size. Before ordering, check:
- Seller identity: use a league, team, Nike or clearly authorized retail channel, especially when a marketplace listing appears unusually early.
- Jersey tier: compare the product name, materials, number application, fit notes and size chart rather than assuming all listings are the on-field specification.
- Player and customization status: confirm spelling, number and whether personalized items can be returned.
- Delivery window: a launch-day order is not automatically guaranteed to arrive before the designated Rivalries game.
- Returns and duties: international buyers should check local taxes, shipping cost and return address before payment.
If your preferred combination is unavailable on September 1, patience is safer than paying an unexplained resale premium. The design remains in the club's uniform rotation for three years, although future retail selection is never guaranteed. Save the relevant game with the site's NFL calendar tools, watch the official team store for restocks and compare the final product page—not screenshots—before buying.
Which Rivalries game should fans circle?
There is no objective single best date, but four games serve different kinds of fans. Choose Colts-Texans on Sept. 27 if seeing the first 2026-class uniform on a field matters most. Choose Lions-Vikings on Dec. 20 for a new design in the national Sunday Night Football window. Choose Packers-Bears on Christmas for the last new reveal, a historic division pairing and a dedicated Netflix holiday stage. Or choose Rams-Seahawks later that day if the novelty you want is the program's first announced game with both clubs in Rivalries uniforms—even though those kits belong to the 2025 class.
For uniform collectors, the first game can reveal how fabric, reflective accents and helmet finishes behave under real light. For schedule-first viewers, late-season division games may carry more standings consequence, but that importance cannot be known in August. Do not buy a ticket or streaming plan based only on a reveal graphic. Recheck the Week 16 schedule, NFL TV listings and your saved NFL calendar close to the date.
2026 NFL Rivalries jerseys FAQ
Which teams have new NFL Rivalries uniforms in 2026?
The new class includes every NFC North team—Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota—and every AFC South team—Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee. Eight 2025 designs also return, so 16 clubs have a Rivalries look in the 2026 rotation.
What is the 2026 NFL Rivalries jersey release date?
The announced consumer launch is September 1, 2026. Availability will vary by retailer, player, size, region and product type, so the date does not guarantee that every possible jersey is stocked everywhere.
Are the uniforms used for only one game?
Each new design debuts in one designated 2026 home game against a division rival. After that debut, it remains in the team's approved uniform rotation for three years. Fans should wait for team announcements before assuming a specific appearance in 2027 or 2028.
Do both teams wear Rivalries jerseys in the same game?
Usually, no. In the eight 2026-class debut games, the designated home club wears the new alternate. Rams-Seahawks on Christmas is the separately announced first dual-Rivalries game, using two returning 2025 designs.
Which divisions receive new uniforms next?
The NFC East and AFC West are scheduled to debut in 2027. The AFC North and NFC South follow in 2028, completing the planned league-wide rollout. Check the current NFL schedule and official team announcements when those seasons arrive; future designs, dates and opponents should not be inferred before they are announced.
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