NFL Jersey System
32 Teams, 3000+ Assets, One Unified Solution
A rapid-turnaround project built to solve a massive limitation: no NFL player photography allowed. We created a league-wide jersey system that aimed to showcase the authenticity of every NFL team, all without logos, and produced thousands of assets for use across the United States and Canada through the app and marketing.
The Plan
Build Fast, Build Authentic
Within 24 hours, Cam and I walked into a kickoff call with a working jersey template, a scalable export system, and a production plan that impressed upper leadership and execs. We laid out our plans on how to design, customize, and ship 32 fully authentic (logo-free) NFL jerseys, all before the start of the season.
This immediately shifted the project from “Is this possible?” to “How quickly can we get this shipped?”
The Problem
When I joined theScore, the app was stuck using generic player initials every time a player appeared in a bet slip or live market. No photos, no likeness, and no branding. I related it to an empty iPhone contact card showing up in one of the biggest sports-betting apps in North America and Canada.
Leadership had spent months trying to crack a solution that looked authentic, scalable, and legal. The ask landed on my desk with one question: “Do you think this is even possible?”
I teamed up with Cam, our new motion designer, and we started building.
Designing 32 Authentic Jerseys
The core challenge was accuracy. We couldn’t use NFL logos, team badges, or official marks, but the jerseys still needed to feel exactly like the real thing.
We studied stitching patterns, collar constructions, striping systems, number typography, color calibration, and every uniform variation across all 32 teams. The goal was to get close enough that any fan could instantly recognize their team, all without crossing licensing lines.
Every jersey we produced was fully custom, team-accurate, and designed to support dynamic numbering for any player.
Scaling It
3,000+ Jerseys, Delivered Early
Once the designs were locked, we built a system capable of exporting thousands of jersey variations quickly and consistently.
Over a few weeks, we produced 3,000+ exports covering every team, every number, and every state needed for app integration.
The dev team plugged them into theScore and ESPN BET ahead of NFL kickoff — something that felt impossible when the project started.
The Results
The jerseys launched league-wide for NFL Week 1, replacing the empty “initials” avatars with a system that felt alive, branded, and built for football fans.
After launch, the system expanded outside the app and into marketing collateral, promos, and social content — becoming a foundational visual element for the NFL season.
The project was called one of the most efficient and well-executed rollouts of the year by multiple managers and execs.
