Five years ago, the Miami Dolphins made dramatic changes to their uniforms and Logo, moving on from the cartoon logo that was used from 1997 through 2012. The new version of the Dolphins’ look removed the helmet from the dolphin image, a staple of every previous version of the team’s logo, and turned the tail up to better relate to a dolphin gaining power in the water, while the colors moved away from a teal version of aqua to a more sea-foam aqua. The changes shocked fans, with a huge swing away from the 1997 logo, and now, five-years later, there still are fans that hate the look.

According to the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, there are changes coming to the Dolphins’ look in 2018. According to NFL rules, once a team changes their uniform and/or logo, the look must remain unchanged for five years. As the Dolphins reach that five-year limit, Salguero says the team is expected sometime this offseason to announce adjustments to the current look.

But, he stresses that is what is coming - adjustments, not an overhaul. There is no move to make the team’s alternate throwback look, popular with the fans, players, and coaches, the permanent uniform for the team. Salguero writes, “The change is expected to affect the team’s jersey, pants and helmet, although not in a manner that will be shocking to fans.” He also said that, while the logo will see some adjustment, the dolphins and the sunburst are not expected to “undergo radical change.”

The Dolphins are not officially saying anything about possible changes to the uniform, but Salguero’s source told him, “the changes to the regular uniform will be an ‘evolution rather than a revolution’ from the current uniform that employs aqua, orange, blue and white as the team’s color palette.”

Taking a guess at what will change, I would suggest that the aqua color become a little darker. In person, the aqua looks like the ocean aqua color the team wanted, but on TV, the color often gets washed out into almost a pastel green type of color. Adding some depth to the color could help it on broadcasts. That would really be the only major adjustment I would make, keeping the look as clean and simple as possible.

I do not believe the team will do something major to the logo itself, leaving the helmet off the dolphin and leaving the upturned tail. Of course, this is all speculation on my part, but it is just the thoughts I have.

The Dolphins will continue to rotate the throwback look into their schedule, with the NFL rules allowing the team to use that look twice a season.