As record heat descends on the Bay Area on Sunday, the NFL has denied the San Francisco 49ers’ request to wear white uniforms for their home game 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 reach 100 degrees.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after practice Friday that the team asked the NFL if they could switch to white, but the league denied the request. However, Shanahan said they may be able to swap their signature gold pants for white pants.
“We got the memo earlier this week that it was going to be that hot. So we asked on Monday, but it wasn’t allowed. We had to do it before the season started,” Shanahan said. ‘We will wear as much white as possible. The most we can do is white pants.’
Per NFL guidelines, uniform changes must be made prior to the season to be eligible. The home team selects its choice first and the away team selects the opposite color in response. This will see the Cardinals wear all-white uniforms as determined prior to Week 1, which will serve as an advantage in the heat.
Starting Friday, the National Weather Service has issued 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 match will start at 1:05 PM Pacific Time, meaning the two teams will play each other during the hottest part of the day.
Shanahan said some players will likely receive pre-game IVs to help combat the heat, but he doesn’t plan to force that on players yet.
“Every person is different. Sometimes if you push the IVs a lot, people think they don’t need to hydrate at all. But it depends on the IV. So we’re not preaching all about that yet,” he said. “A number of boys, that’s what they usually do in these kinds of situations. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are many more this Sunday.”
Moving forward, Shanahan said they will likely plan to wear all-white uniforms for future home games in October in anticipation of more potential heat waves.
“To do this, we have to make a conscious decision or a commitment before the year that we will wear all white until mid-October or whatever, and then go back to normal. But usually it’s not that warm. , so we’ll probably do that now, just in case,” he said.
