Roughly two years ago, Joey Galioto walked into a conference room overlooking the Atlanta Falcons' practice fields at IBM Performance Fields in Flowery Branch.
It's not a place he visits often.
As the Falcons' head of equipment operations, Galioto's world is usually filled with helmet tools, sweat-soaked pads and ripped jerseys. All the elements that define the physical reality of football.
The world of Microsoft Teams calls and strategy documents is far less familiar.
On the agenda that day: the Falcons' next uniform redesign, set for 2026.
And Galioto wasn't there just to listen.
"I felt like we had a major responsibility in what we need from equipment staff, the functionality of our uniforms," Galioto said, "but also being a voice for the guys in this locker room."
Few understand that locker room better than Galioto. Even fewer know how a uniform manifests on a player when the lights are the brightest. That's why Galioto's unique perspective was essential to the redesign process from the very beginning.
"For him to be as involved in this process as he has been, nobody has a better feel for the players than him and his staff and what they want, what they prefer in a uniform," Matt Ryan said of Galioto. "I know he was really diligent in that process of getting feedback from the players."
That feedback covered a wide range of topics — from fit and feel to overall functionality.
Players wanted a look that felt classic and timeless, but also sleek and fast. Above all, they wanted comfort on game days. From the start, that became Galioto's top priority: ensuring that whatever decisions were made would leave players feeling good every time they put the uniform on.
"The functionality of the uniform is very important, to be able to move and do what they do best," Galioto said. "We wanted to make sure they feel comfortable from start to finish from when they put it on to the time they take it off."