Pittsburgh Steelers second place in their division, or with a record better than .500 (). Pittsburgh did make history in by signing Byron White, a future Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to what was at the time the biggest contract in NFL history, but he played only one year with the Pirates before signing with the Detroit Lions. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers. During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the
Logos and uniforms of the Pittsburgh Steelers The uniforms have drawn major media attention. "USA Today" said that the Steelers looked like "bumblebee[s] in a Depression-era chain gang." 65% of respondents to an ESPN poll said they hated the throwback uniforms. NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk blog said the 2012 throwback uniform "ranks among the worst ever fashioned for any NFL team." The throwbacks were officially retired after the 2016 season. For the 2018 season, the Steelers will wear throwback black uniforms based on the design worn by the Steel Curtain teams of the 1970s. It is similar to their current uniforms but without the Steelers logo