Detroit’s pro sports teams have some pretty iconic uniforms, from the winged wheel of the Detroit Red Wings, to the old English D of the Detroit Tigers to the Honolulu blue of the Detroit Lions.

But for every classic jersey from a Motown team, there is at least one gathering dust in the back of a closet – and not because it’s a cherished item.

There have been some duds in the Detroit sports uniform rotation, with misguided color schemes, wacky logos, unfortunate throwbacks and sleeves where they are not supposed to be (looking at you, Pistons). If it weren’t for these bad uniforms, we might not be able to cherish the brilliant ones quite as much.

But as painful as it might be to revisit these sartorial tragedies, let’s do it, anyway.

Here are the worst jerseys from every major Detroit men’s pro team (excluding the Red Wings, because we honestly couldn’t find one to call bad).

LOOKIN’ GOOD: The best-ever uniforms from every Detroit pro sports team

Tigers: 2024-present City Connects

Swing and a miss.

The Tigers debuted their highly-anticipated City Connect jerseys in 2024, and they haven’t exactly been a hit. The black-and-blue color scheme doesn’t scream “automotive industry,” even if the carefully hidden VIN number and the less-carefully hidden highway sign on the sleeve are supposed to pay homage to the Motor City.

That’s the best part of the uniform, by the way – “Motor City” across the chest was a slam dunk, even if the quasi Star Trek font is more reminiscent of spaceships than Model Ts. But by far the worst part is the hat. Not even a downtown tourist shop would sell a hat that ridiculous looking.

The Tigers seemed to have rectified the situation by introducing two alternate jerseys this past offseason, both of which score much higher than the City Connect jersey. But for whatever reason, the Tigers still insist on occasionally breaking out these duds. Banish them, we say.

Lions: 2017 Color Rush

The NFL’s color rush uniforms would likely show up on many “worst” lists for various NFL teams, but Detroit’s color rush attempt in 2017 was especially egregious.

Grey may be a color (technically), but it certainly isn’t a Lions color, as demonstrated by the clashing silver helmets the Lions wear with their traditional unis. At least the Lions all-black uniforms from the past two seasons have an accompanying helmet that matches, truly elevating what an alternate jersey can bring to the field.

But even if the color rush uniforms came with a matching grey helmet, they would still look pretty bad. The best thing that can be said about them is that they are bland, and you have virtually zero chance of seeing a fan wearing one of these in or around Ford Field.

Pistons: 2019-20 City Edition

Remember when the NBA tried to get us all to buy sleeved jerseys in the mid 2010s? And how the Pistons wore a sleeved “Motor City” jersey that used the wrong shade of blue, the wrong shade of red and looked like a shirt for rec league?

The red City Edition uniform is somehow way worse than that.

The brightness of Detroit’s red lends itself much better as a secondary color, as it’s way too bright and harsh to be the featured color on a basketball uniform. The double stripe down the middle serves no purpose and looks to be the only idea the designers had for this uniform. And did we mention how red it is?

These uniforms were shelved after one season, and while the Pistons tried a red City Edition uniform again a couple of years later, they haven’t gone back since. A wise decision.

DCFC: 2025 away

In a vacuum, Detroit City’s 2025 away kits aren’t bad. The lines are clean, the crest keeps its gold sheen and teams are allowed to take a break from their standard color combinations every once in a while.

But green just doesn’t feel right for this team. If it were a lighter green to match the Spirit of Detroit, then maybe the connection to the city would have been strong enough to merit a second look. Forest green, however, just feels like too far a diversion from a team that wears red so well.

Disagree with our rankings? Let us know.

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The CEO of Priority Waste announced the progress of the company’s recovery plan following numerous customer complaints across Metro Detroit.

CEO Aaron Johnson sent a letter to residents on Wednesday, July 1, outlining the progress so far on Priority Waste’s recovery plan after numerous communities across Metro Detroit experienced service delays and collection disruptions.

Previous coverage –> Priority Waste apologizes to Metro Detroit customers, outlines plan for improvements

“Our objective is not simply to restore service, but to build a stronger, more reliable company than the one that existed before,” said Johnson. “We will continue to communicate openly, share our progress, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering measurable results. Most importantly, we are committed to earning back your trust, not through words alone, but through sustained improvement and reliable performance which we have detailed for you.”

The letter sent out on Wednesday outlined a 30-day service recovery report.

You can view the full letter below:

Dear Residents:

One month ago, I was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Priority Waste after serving as a senior advisor behind the scenes. From my first day in this role, my focus has been clear: observe, assess, and correct. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge and sincerely apologize for the frustration and inconvenience many of you have experienced. We take full responsibility for the service failures that have occurred. While the challenges we face today were not created overnight, we are committed to addressing them with urgency, transparency, and accountability.

At Priority Waste, we are embracing a culture of continuous improvement. Every day, we are working to be better than we were the day before. Our objective is not simply to restore service, but to build a stronger, more reliable company than the one that existed before. We will continue to communicate openly, share our progress, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering measurable results. Most importantly, we are committed to earning back your trust, not through words alone, but through sustained improvement and reliable performance which we have detailed for you below.

Priority Waste’s 5 Point Recovery Plan

1. Fleet Expansion

To strengthen our operations, Priority Waste has purchased 198 trucks previously operating under rental agreements, as well as 91 new automated side-load collection vehicles equipped with upgraded technology to improve efficiency and reliability. To date, we have received 30 of the 91 new vehicles, with the remaining trucks expected to arrive by the end of August due to manufacturing and delivery timelines. Frequent vehicle breakdowns have been one of the primary causes of service interruptions. As these new trucks enter our fleet, they will improve route reliability and provide more consistent collection service for your household.

2. Staffing Enhancements

Over the past three weeks, we have hired 41 qualified drivers, and our recruitment efforts continue every day. Our goal is to maintain approximately 20 percent excess driver capacity, ensuring we can effectively respond to employee absences, seasonal demand, and unexpected operational challenges without disrupting customer service.

3. Container Reinvestment

Limited investment resulted in a significant backlog of container deliveries and repairs. During my first week as CEO, we invested more than $2 million to purchase 19,000 new containers to begin eliminating that backlog. In addition, we have expanded our container delivery operation from five crews to nine crews over the past 30 days. We anticipate completing all outstanding container requests within the next two weeks.

4. Customer Service Improvements

When service issues occur, our customers deserve timely answers and responsive support. Previously, our customer service operation was not adequately staffed to handle the volume of incoming calls. To address this, we quickly expanded our customer support capacity through a partnership with a Michigan-based contact center, allowing us to significantly improve responsiveness. As service performance has improved, customer call volume has declined by approximately 50 percent.

Ultimately, however, our goal is not simply to answer more calls, it’s to eliminate the need for them by consistently providing on-time service.

5. Recovery Operations

While our goal is always to provide on-time service, we recognize that issues can still occur. When they do, missed collections will be recovered the very next day.

We understand the burden these service disruptions have placed on you and your family, and we sincerely apologize. Over the coming weeks, we anticipate increased operational demands surrounding the Fourth of July holiday, which will provide another opportunity to further strengthen our operations and services. I look forward to providing another update in 30 days and sharing the measurable improvements we continue to achieve. Thank you for your patience, your feedback, and the opportunity to earn back your trust.

Sincerely,

Aaron Johnson

Chief Executive Officer

Priority Waste