In choosing the team name, the Richardsons did not run focus groups with potential fans. The 'Panthers' had always been their intention; Jerry Richardson had begun driving a car with the license plate 'PNTHRS' near the end of 1989. By the time they had been announced as the 29th NFL team, the Panthers' logo and helmet design had already been finalized, but the uniform design was still under creation. After discussion, the Panthers organization decided on jerseys colored white, black, and blue, and pants colored white and silver; the exact tone of blue, which they determined would be "process blue" (a shade lighter than Duke's and darker than North Carolina's), was the most difficult to determine. The team's uniform has rarely changed since their creation, and the changes that have been made are mostly minor ones, such as changing the sock color of the team's black uniforms from blue to black and changing the team's shoes from white to black.[30] Team owner Jerry Richardson, a self-described traditionalist, has said that no major uniform changes will be made in his lifetime;[31] the Panthers did, however, change their logo and logotype in 2012, the first such change in team history. According to the team, the changes were designed to give their logo an "aggressive, contemporary look" as well to give it a more three-dimensional feel.[32]
.png)
The Panthers have three main jersey colors: black, white, and blue.[33] Their blue jerseys, designated their alternate uniforms, are the newest and were introduced in 2002.[34] NFL regulations allow the team to use the blue jersey up to two times in any given season.[33] In all other games, the team must wear either their white or black jerseys; in NFL games, the home team decides whether to wear a dark or white jersey, while the away team wears the opposite.[35] The Panthers typically pair their white jerseys with white pants, while the black and blue jerseys are paired with silver pants, and there have only been two exceptions to this standard. The first such instance was in 1998, when the team paired their white jerseys with silver pants in a game against the Indianapolis Colts. The second and most recent instance was in 2012 during a game against the Denver Broncos, when they paired paired their black jerseys with black pants.[35] This created an all-black uniform, with the exception of blue socks and silver helmets. The decision to wear blue socks was made by team captain Steve Smith, who felt the blue socks gave the uniforms a more distinct appearance in comparison to other all-black uniforms.[36] The all-black uniforms won the "Greatest Uniform in NFL History" contest, a fan-voted contest run by NFL.com in July 2013. According to the team's equipment manager, Jackie Miles, the Panthers intend to use the all-black uniforms more in the future.[37] The Panthers can use whatever color pants they wish in any game, as the NFL does not require teams to use particular pant colors.[35]
The team's uniform did not change significantly after Nike became the NFL's jersey supplier in 2012, but the collar was altered to honor former Panthers player and coach Sam Mills by featuring the phrase "Keep Pounding". Nike had presented this idea to the Panthers organization, who approved it; the team appreciated this idea, as they wanted newer fans to gain a greater understanding of the legacy Mills, who died of cancer of 2005, left behind. Mills had introduced the phrase, which has since become a team slogan, in a speech to the team prior to their 2003 playoff game against Dallas; in the speech, Mills reconciled his fight against cancer with the team's on-field battle, saying "When I found out I had cancer, there were two things I could do – quit or keep pounding. I'm a fighter. I kept pounding. You're fighters, too. Keep pounding!"[38]
