There is a solution to the Miami Dolphins logo and uniform conundrum

The Miami Dolphins have a uniform and logo conundrum that needs to be addressed and there is a solution if Stephen Ross wants one.

For the Miami Dolphins, there may or may not be a problem with the logo. Most of their fans want the throwback uniforms to be the permanent uniforms but Stephen Ross has invested a lot of money in the new logo. From stadium and training facility signage to the uniforms themselves, the Dolphins owner simply doesn’t want to move back through history but instead continues to look forward.

That is all well and fine and given the fact that it is not our checkbook being hit should the Dolphins make another permanent change we can easily sit back and say what they should do.

Yes, the Dolphins need to change their uniforms. Universally they are heralded as one of the best uniforms in all of sports and when CEO Tom Garfinkel, who loves the old style traditional uniform, unveiled the throwbacks for the Patriots game at Hard Rock Stadium in September, the debate over the use of the uniforms reared its head again. So what is the solution?

How do you please the fans and give the NFL the best uniforms in league history without taking a big shot to the wallet? It is simple really and should appeal to Stephen Ross as a legit option. It starts with keeping both logos.

The NFL won’t allow a team to have two logos so the simplest solution would be to return to the original Miami Dolphins logo with the NFL and then use the newer logo to brand Hard Rock Stadium. Make them two separate entities. The Dolphins can also petition the league to wear the newer logo once or twice during the season making it a retro uniform as well.

This solves the problems with merchandising and sales but at the core returns the Dolphins to their roots. As Stephen Ross builds a state of the art training complex adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium, he could use the new logo around the facility with a mixture of the old but if he really wants to use the new logo on the facility that is fine too. He can.

There is room for both the tradition of the Dolphins history and the original logo as well as the forward-looking future of the new logo as a piece of the facilities and stadium and Ross doesn’t need permission from the NFL.

Ideally, the Dolphins and Stephen Ross would simply return to the old logo and leave it alone for the next thirty years if not more. It is a clean design with a lot of history and frankly, the fan base loves it. The question is how much does Ross make off that logo in merchandise when they roll it out for a week or two or three during the season?