The Minnesota Vikings finally pulled back the curtain on their new Nike Rivalries uniforms Tuesday, but the reaction from plenty of fans was immediate and pretty pointed: they saw Baltimore.
Minnesota will wear the new look once in the 2026 season, and it’s set for Week 15 when the Vikings host the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 20 in a primetime game. The players may be excited about the reveal, but online, the response from the fanbase split fast.
A big part of the conversation centered on the fact that the Vikings aren’t the only team that wears purple. Baltimore’s “Purple Rising” alternate uniform already features an all-purple setup with a purple helmet and gold facemask, and that comparison was enough to send some Vikings fans straight to X with the same complaint: the new Minnesota look felt awfully familiar.
“Yo I can’t be the only that think these are straight ass, they are straight up just ravens jerseys.”
“Sooooo we just copied the ravens with a diff shade off purple????”
“We don turned into the ravens lmao.”
“ravens jerseys.
shoulda just brought back the 90s style in deep purple.”
There’s no denying the helmets share some similarities. But Minnesota’s Rivalry uniform is not just a Ravens clone with a different paint job.
The Vikings’ purple is noticeably darker, and their set includes a gold Nordic knot on the helmet, jersey sleeve, and pants. Even the number font is different from what Baltimore uses.
And for all the instant reactions, there’s still the matter of seeing the uniform in action. Some of the criticism from Tuesday could look very different once Week 15 arrives and the Vikings debut the look in an actual game, especially with the field design meant to go with it.
So yes, there are some echoes of Baltimore in Minnesota’s new Rivalry uniform. But the Vikings’ version has its own identity, and it’s built with enough unique details to stand apart.
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