With record heat descending on the Bay Area on Sunday, the NFL has denied the San Francisco 49ers’ request to wear white uniforms for their home match against the Arizona Cardinals. The decision will leave the 49ers in their red home uniforms for the game in Santa Clara, where temperatures are expected to hit 100 degrees.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after practice Friday that the team asked the NFL if the 49ers could switch to white, but the league turned down the request. Shanahan said they will potentially be able to swap their typical gold pants for white pants.
“We got the memo earlier in the week that it was going to be hot like this. So we asked on Monday, and we weren’t allowed to do it. We had to do it before the season started,” Shanahan said. “We’ll get as much white on as possible. The most we can possibly do is white pants.”
Under NFL guidelines, uniform changes must be made ahead of the season to be considered. The home team selects its choice first, and the away team chooses the opposite color in response. Because of this, the Cardinals will be wearing all-white uniforms, as determined before Week 1, which will serve as a benefit in the heat.
As of Friday, the National Weather Service has flagged an excessive heat warning in the Bay Area through Saturday night, but temperatures are still expected to be in the mid- to high-90s on Sunday. The game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. Pacific time, meaning the two teams will be playing during the hottest part of the day.
Shanahan said some players will likely get pre-game IVs to help combat the heat, but that he isn’t planning on pushing that on players yet.
“Each person is different. Sometimes, when you push IVs a lot, people think they don’t have to hydrate at all. But it depends on the IV. So, we’re not preaching all of that yet,” he said. “A number of guys, that’s usually what they do anyway in these situations. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot more are doing it this Sunday.”
Going forward, Shanahan said the 49ers will likely plan to wear all-white uniforms during future home games in October, in anticipation for more potential heat waves.
“In order for us to do it, we’ve got to make a conscious decision or a commitment before the year that we wear all whites until like the middle of October or whatever, and then go to normal. But it’s not usually this hot, so we’ll probably do that now just in case,” he said.
