It's the summer, and that means we've reached the point of meaningless and completely subjective arguments. But that won't stop us, as Pittsburgh Steelers fans, from taking some level of offense to the latest NFL uniform rankings.
On Monday, Sports Illustrated dropped its 2026 NFL uniform rankings, listing the worst uniforms in the league, leading up to the No. 1 spot. These rankings from SI's Mike Kadlick included home, away, throwback, and alternate uniforms.
Unfortunately, the Steelers showed up early on the list as SI's 22nd-ranked uniforms ahead of the 2026 season. Kadlick explained:
"The Steelers’ uniforms have remained mostly unchanged since the early 2000s, with their primary attire featuring gold pants, black jerseys at home and white on the road. Their polarizing bumblebee throwbacks received a refreshed look in 2025, paying homage to the team’s inaugural 1933 season, but were still a bit of an eyesore.
Many won’t like where they’re ranked—as Pittsburgh’s widely considered to have some of the league’s best uniforms, but to me, they’re just meh."
Just meh? Don't disrespect the classics!
I get it, to an extent. The Steelers' uniforms don't catch the eye as some do around the league. But these subjective rankings will quickly spark debate.
The Steelers' No. 22 spot on the list came in lower than teams like the Atlanta Falcons (No. 21), New England Patriots (No. 20), Tennessee Titans (No. 19), and Chicago Bears (No. 18).
The No. 1 spot on SI's list went to the Los Angeles Chargers, who possess a powder-blue home jersey, a yellow alternate, and the classic navy throwbacks. Ironically, the LA Rams—who share a similar color scheme—were Kadlick's worst-ranked jerseys at No. 32.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' uniforms deserve more respect
In my totally unbiased, completely neutral professional opinion, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a top-five uniform combination in the league... Okay, perhaps there's a little bias in there. But I can make a good case as to why they should be ranked higher.
While many teams—like the Patriots, Bills, and Giants—share a remarkably similar color code, the Steelers are the only team with gold (or yellow, to the naked eye) and black uniforms (and the Saints' uniforms are different enough). Pittsburgh's home jerseys are widely more beloved than the white away jerseys, but both are equally dope in my mind.
Meanwhile, the Steelers' black color rush uniforms with yellow lettering are a combination unique to the rest of the league.
I'll give them one thing: those bumblebee uniforms—both the 1933 classics and the 2025 remakes—don't hit the spot for me. We could do without those. But the rest is jersey gold (or rather, black and gold).
Their best uniforms, in my mind, weren't even listed—the Pittsburgh Steelers' iconic block-number home uniforms. Many fans would agree that these should be their standard home uniforms and that Art Rooney II and the organization should bring them back to stay.
Maybe my favorite argument as to why the Steelers' uniforms should be higher on SI's rankings wasn't debated—the fact that all of Pittsburgh's major professional sports teams share a color that represents the city they are proud of. When the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Penguins both wear similar colors to the Steelers, it makes it feel like they are always in each other's corner.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and at the end of the day, SI's subjective jersey rankings make for some fun offseason banter. Aesthetics matter to some fans more than others, but we'll have far more pressing issues to talk about when training camp starts at the end of July.
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