The Jersey and Pants

The parts of the uniform that the fans see are the jersey and the pants. The main purpose of these two garments is to identify the player by name and number, and by his team colors. Jerseys will also usually have patches on them -- the NFL logo, the team logo and (if they make it) the Super Bowl and Pro-Bowl logos.

You can easily identify a player by his number, name and team colors.

The front and back of the jersey are nylon, with spandex side panels to keep it taut. The goal is to make it difficult -- if not impossible -- for an opposing player to grab hold of the jersey and use it for leverage. To help this process:

• Jerseys have an extension at the bottom that wraps around from front to back to keep the jersey tucked in.
• Jerseys have a wide strip of Velcro at the rear that mates with Velcro inside the waistband of the pants.
• Many players apply two-sided carpet tape to their shoulder pads so that the jersey sticks to the pads!

The players individually choose which of these features (if any) they will use.

The pants also combine nylon and spandex for a tight fit:

Uniform pants are designed to accommodate the bulk of leg pads, but to fit snugly and comfortably against a player's lower body.

Each Panther player is equipped with a set of practice jerseys (one each in white, black and the team's color), as well as four game jerseys -- two in color or black and two in white. Players will change jerseys at half time if it is raining. Practice pants come in both nylon and mesh (for hot weather practices), and game pants come in white and silver.