Editing Atlanta Falcons (section)

==Logo and uniforms==
[[File:NFC-Throwback2-Uniform-ATL.PNG|thumb|150px|Falcons uniform: 1971–1989]]
[[File:NFC-Throwback-Uniform-ATL.PNG|thumb|150px|Falcons uniform: 1997–2002]]
[[File:Atlanta falcons unif 16.png|thumb|220px|Falcons uniform: 2016–19, including the throwback edition]]
The Atlanta Falcons' colors are black, red, silver and white.<ref>{{cite AV media|date=February 13, 2013|title=Evolution of the Falcons' colors|url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/video/evolution-of-the-falcons-colors-9571993|access-date=March 30, 2017|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=AtlantaFalcons.com}}</ref> When the team began play in [[1966 Atlanta Falcons season|1966]], the Falcons wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo. In the center of the helmet was a center black stripe surrounded by two gold stripes and two white stripes. These colors represented the two college rival schools in the state of Georgia; rival schools [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets]] (white and gold) and the [[Georgia Bulldogs]] (red and black). Although the gold was removed after several seasons, the white remains to this day. They wore white pants and either black or white jerseys. At first, the falcon crest logo was also put on the jersey sleeves, but it was replaced by a red and white stripe pattern four years later. They switched from black to red jerseys in 1971, and the club began to wear silver pants in 1978. The facemasks on the helmets were initially gray, becoming white in 1978, and then black in 1984; the team wore black face masks until its 2020 redesign.

A prototype white helmet was developed for the team prior to the [[1974 Atlanta Falcons season|1974 season]], but was never worn.

In [[1990 Atlanta Falcons season|1990]], the uniform design changed to black helmets, silver pants, and either black or white jerseys.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Myrydd |date=2020-04-14 |title=Back in black: A brief look at Atlanta Falcons uniforms throughout the decades |url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/back-in-black-a-brief-look-at-atlanta-falcons-uniforms-throughout-the-decades/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Atlanta Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> The numbers on the white jerseys were black, but were changed to red in [[1997 Atlanta Falcons season|1997]]. (The red numerals could be seen on the away jerseys briefly in 1990.)

Both the logo and uniforms changed in [[2003 Atlanta Falcons season|2003]]. The logo was redesigned with red and silver accents to depict a more powerful, aggressive falcon, which now more closely resembles the capital letter ''F''.<ref name="NewFalconsLogo2003" /><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Uniform History|chapter-url=http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/static/pdf/media-guides/ATL-Media-Guide.pdf#page=377|publisher=NFL Enterprises|title=2019 Atlanta Falcons Media Guide|url=http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/static/pdf/media-guides/ATL-Media-Guide.pdf|date=August 13, 2019|access-date=July 29, 2020|archive-date=September 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902001856/http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/static/pdf/media-guides/ATL-Media-Guide.pdf#page=377|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although the Falcons still wore black helmets, the new uniforms featured jerseys and pants with red trim down the sides. The uniform design consisted of either black or white jerseys, and either black or white pants. During that same year, a red alternate jersey with black trim was also introduced. The Falcons also started wearing black cleats with these uniforms.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Falcons unveil new uniforms at fan rally|url=http://atlantafalcons.com/news/press_releases.cfm?cont_id=177215|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=AtlantaFalcons.com|date=April 24, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030705011150/http://atlantafalcons.com/news/press_releases.cfm?cont_id=177215|archive-date=July 5, 2003|access-date=August 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[2004 Atlanta Falcons season|2004]], the red jerseys became the primary jerseys, and the black ones became the alternate, both worn with white pants. In select road games, the Falcons wear black pants with white jerseys. The Falcons wore an all-black combination for home games against their archrivals, the [[New Orleans Saints]], winning the first two contests (24–21 in {{nfly|2004}} and 36–17 in {{nfly|2005}}), but losing 31–13 in {{nfly|2006}}. The Falcons wore the all-black combination against the New Orleans Saints for four straight seasons starting in 2004, With the last time being in 2007, losing 34–14. They wore the combination again in 2006, against the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] in Week 2. The Falcons won that game, 14–3. The Falcons also wore their all-black uniform in 2007 against the New York Giants, and in 2008 against the Carolina Panthers and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (for the second time). After that, the black pants and uniforms were retired and the white pants were now used full-time with the regular uniforms.

In the 1980s, the Falcons wore their white uniforms at home most of the time because of the heat. When the Falcons started playing in a dome, the team switched to their dark uniforms for home games but have worn their white uniforms at home a few times since switching to the dome. It was announced at the 2009 state of the franchise meeting that the Falcons would wear 1966 throwback uniforms for a couple games during the 2009 season. The Atlanta Falcons wore 1966 throwback jerseys for two home games in 2009 – against the Carolina Panthers on September 20 and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 29. The Falcons won both of those games. They donned the throwbacks again for 2 games in 2010, against Baltimore and San Francisco, winning both of those games as well. The throwbacks were used twice in 2011 and 2012; both times were against the Panthers and Saints. However, the throwbacks were retired following a 2013 NFL rule requiring only one helmet shell per team.

The Falcons unveiled an all-red [[NFL Color Rush|Color Rush]] uniform on September 13, 2016; however, due to the fact that the Falcons and the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] had similar all-red Color Rush uniforms, the Falcons were unable to wear their Color Rush uniform until the 2017 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=NFL AND NIKE REVEAL COLOR RUSH UNIFORMS|url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/nfl-and-nike-reveal-color-rush-uniforms-17676181|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=AtlantaFalcons.com|date=September 13, 2016|access-date=June 30, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630215933/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/nfl-and-nike-reveal-color-rush-uniforms-17676181|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Tabeek|first=Matthew|title=LOOK: THREE STRAIGHT HOME GAMES WITH THREE DIFFERENT UNIFORM COMBINATIONS FOR FALCONS|url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/look-three-straight-home-games-with-three-different-uniform-combination-19907987|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=AtlantaFalcons.com|date=December 4, 2017|access-date=June 30, 2019|archive-date=April 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426032443/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/look-three-straight-home-games-with-three-different-uniform-combination-19907987|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also in 2016, the Falcons unveiled a mixed throwback uniform set. The uniform tops, pants and socks closely resembled their 1960s kits. From 2016 to 2021, due to the NFL's one-shell rule, the Falcons wore the black helmets with the original logo decal similar to the design they wore in the 1990s. However, starting in 2022, with the NFL now reinstating the use of alternate helmets, the Falcons brought back the original red helmets to pair with their throwback uniforms.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Haley|first1=Matt|last2=Bair|first2=Scott|title=What you need to know about Falcons classic red helmet, how it fits into 2022|url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-falcons-classic-red-helmet-how-it-fits-into-2022|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=AtlantaFalcons.com|date=June 1, 2022|access-date=June 2, 2022}}</ref>

It was revealed in January 2020 that the Falcons will change uniforms for the [[2020 NFL season]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Atlanta Falcons to have new uniforms for 2020 season |url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001096746/article/atlanta-falcons-to-have-new-uniforms-for-2020-season |website=[[National Football League]] |date=2020-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124013434/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001096746/article/atlanta-falcons-to-have-new-uniforms-for-2020-season |archive-date=2020-01-24 |url-status=dead |last1=Shook |first1=Nick |access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> The ensuing design featured the return to black as the primary home uniform color for the first time since 2003. Both the primary home and road uniforms featured the "ATL" abbreviation in red above either white or black numbers with red drop shadows. The white and black tops are usually paired with either white or black pants. The alternate uniform featured a red/black gradient design and also featured the "ATL" abbreviation in white above white numbers with black drop shadows. Black pants are only used with this uniform. All three uniforms feature red side stripes. The current throwback uniform was also retained. In addition, the Falcons switched to matte helmets with the enlarged falcon logo and gray facemasks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Falcons unveil new uniforms, helmet ahead of 2020 |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/falcons-unveil-new-uniforms-helmet-ahead-of-2020 |website=[[National Football League]] |date=2020-04-08 |last1=Bergman |first1=Jeremy |access-date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> The red/black gradient alternates only lasted three seasons before it was removed from the uniform rotation in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hecken|first=Phil|title=Uni Watch 2024 NFL Uniform Preview — NFC South|url=https://uni-watch.com/2024/09/05/uni-watch-2024-nfl-uniform-preview-nfc-south/|publisher=Uni Watch|website=UniWatch.com|date=September 5, 2024|access-date=September 6, 2024}}</ref>