Brace yourselves, the NFL is starting their version of City Connect

The NFL is giving us exactly what no one was asking for.

Nike announced Friday the start of their "Rivalries" program: 

This is Rivalries. Nothing brings communities together quite like a good rivalry. Rivalries make you work harder, scream louder and give it your all whether you're on the field or in the stands. pic.twitter.com/44X6qGu7JP

— Nike Football (@usnikefootball) April 25, 2025

The Eagles are set to get a rivalries release in 2027: 

Starting this season, Nike and the NFL are elevating select divisional matchups with a Rivalries Game on each team’s home turf — featuring exclusive uniforms and fan gear that bring the unique spirit and intensity of the teams and the fans that rep them at every game. pic.twitter.com/2HYtxILtOu

— Nike Football (@usnikefootball) April 26, 2025

So what's the goal of the program? Here's some information from a Nike release: 

"Nike and the National Football League are announcing Rivalries, a new and exciting uniform and fan gear program that will give athletes and fans an opportunity to connect like never before.

"The program will elevate NFL rivalry games over the next four seasons with specially designed Nike uniforms and fan gear. Rivalries will drive fan engagement by celebrating storied traditions and uniting communities with unique and elevated product designs.

“The NFL is home to some of the biggest football rivalries, and today marks a historical moment for the NFL as we share Rivalries with the world,” says Renie Anderson, Chief Revenue Officer, NFL. “Together with Nike, we are harnessing the power of rivalry matchups to bring fan excitement and community pride to the next level. Through specially designed player uniforms and limited-edition fan gear, we will embark on a journey that inspires competitive spirit and reveals the winner in all of us.”

As Andrew Lind of SportsLogos.Net noted, this vague, corporate language sounds very much like what's been used for MLB's City Connect threads and the NBA's City Edition jerseys. 

The Phillies are in their second year with their City of Philadelphia flag-inspired jerseys, which are worn on Friday nights at Citizens Bank Park: 

These have received, at best, mixed reviews. Teams who got City Connect jerseys before the Phillies — such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals — wore the designs for at least three seasons before retiring them in favor of a new CC or abandoning the program, like the Chicago Cubs did after last season. 

The NBA has been doing its City Edition program since the 2017-18 season, with all 30 teams getting a new one each year. 

There have been some controversial designs for the Sixers, like the "New Philadelphia" ones that paid homage to Boathouse Row in 2020-21: 

However, the white Spectrum City Editions the Sixers sported this past season were great, even if they were wasted on a dreadful team: 

OGs will remember that the NFL once had a program like City Connect and City Edition that was called "Color Rush." In 2016 and 2017, teams wore often extremely bright uniforms on Thursday Night Football, as the NFL tried to both sell merchandise and draw more eyeballs to TNF. It led to some problematic matchups for color blind fans, and just some ugly aesthetics for fans with clear vision. But it was at least kind of fun: 

Unlike some other teams, the Eagles didn't really get a new design for this. They either wore white-on-white or black-on-black. The Eagles first debuted the black-on-black combination in 2015, but the only thing that was new was the black pants. The black tops became an alternate in 2003. (And as an aside, black-on-black has been run into the ground by the Eagles over the last decade, especially now that they also have a black alternate helmet. Contrast was great. Bring back black jerseys with Midnight Green helmets and pants!) 

In any event, it will be a few years until this program affects the Eagles. The thought here is it's unnecessary. Baseball has 162 games, and basketball has 82. Something different once in a while can be good. There's a limited inventory of football games, even if it seems like a matter of when, not if, the regular season expands to 18 games. The Eagles already have the black alternates discussed above, and the Kelly Green throwbacks that rejoined the rotation in 2023. Nothing else needs added, particularly if it just ends up being something like these gray jerseys that the NFL has sold for years but not yet dared to actually put into a game: 

However, the rivalry aspect of this all gives you a little hope. If 2027 rolls around and the Eagles bring back the white tops that match with Kelly Green to play the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants or Washington Commanders, there won't be any complaints: