Burning it up! Predicting the 2025 FC Dallas third jersey

In six weeks time FC Dallas will receive its first third shirt since 2002. On July 19, designated 90’s Night at Toyota Stadium, FC Dallas will don a throwback jersey as part of adidas’ Archive Collection.

The club hasn’t worn a full-season third kit since the all-black (with red socks) in the 2001-2002 season.

The Archive Collection is an expansion of the 2024 range given to five teams – Miami, Portland, both LA teams, and Sporting Kansas City. The collection includes not only a throwback jersey, but also adidas Gazelle shoes, an anthem jacket, and the usual merchandise options such as hats and T-shirts.

Footy Headlines has reported that all teams in MLS will receive the collection in 2025, but we’ve received information that the teams will alternate between 2025 and 2026.

There have already been leaks of Columbus and San Jose’s offerings, which are clear nods to the inaugural season in 1996. So does that mean FC Dallas is headed for its own retro angular design featuring an excessive amount of wasabi green?

Well, no.

We have understood for a year or so that the jersey would be black, just like that 2001-2002 Dallas Burn third kit seen above.

More recently, we’ve found out that the adidas template used will be Tiro 25. The current run of MLS jerseys uses Tiro 24 complete with the horns, whereas Tiro 25 is the style of the new Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Juventus jerseys (or the current MLS training wear). That means the modern adidas logo, not the classic Trefoil, as has been suggested elsewhere.

Let’s talk about design. This is a Dallas Burn jersey rather than FC Dallas, so expect to see both the Dallas Burn crest and the Burn wordmark in the usual sponsor’s position, as all jerseys between 1998 and 2004 carried.

Now, before we get too excited, let’s remember the Burn Baby Burn jersey, where some revisionist history replaced that stunning wasabi green with gold.

While the Crew and Quakes Clash are sporting a ’96 look, an early prototype of the jersey that we were able to get some details on suggests that it will key off the 1997 pinhoops. So without further ado…

A couple of notes on small details. I have no information at all on shorts and socks, so that’s a total guess, but the stripes go with that set of kits as opposed to the horns and stripeless socks in the current away kit.

The jersey number shown is what was used on last year’s adidas Archive Collection. I hope they continue with that, because that is the style the 1996 Burn jerseys used.

What I would have done differently

These jersey predictions always end up like Buzz’s lineup prediction – That’s not necessarily what I would do, but it’s what I think they will do.

So, what would I change?

Actually, not a whole lot. From the parts we’ve heard about to make this mock-up, I would absolutely buy this jersey. But this bottom space says “what I would have done differently,” not “do I like it.”

I would ditch the gold for the old school green.

My only other change would be that I thought the 1998 jersey improved upon the 1997 version in how the pinhoops were handled. They went from three hoops touching to a more spaced-apart effect, with the red jersey carrying a thicker black hoop surrounded by both white and green. I’d go for a hybrid of the two and just separate the pin hoops so the red and gold or green don’t risk appearing orange from a distance.

So, what do you think, does either make you feel nostalgic or nauseous?