Patriots have new uniforms, and you'll have less money because of it.

The Patriots' new uniforms, which aren't really all that new.

As promised, the Patriots unveiled their new uniforms on Monday. And why not? It's Patriots Day in Massachusetts, a state holiday commemorating the battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, which is popularly regarded as the "official" start of the Revolutionary War.

This event, as it turns out, will be the first shot fired in a battle to separate New England sports fans from more of the money in their wallets.

Essentially, the new uniforms are tweaked versions of the "color rush" uniforms that debuted in 2016. The major changes are in the font styles of the numbers and the nameplates, and the adoption of blue pants as permanent with the blue-jerseyed home uniforms.

You may notice that for the numbers and names, the uniforms feature a simpler block-letter, sans-serif style than the previous typeface, which had been created specifically for the Patriots in 2000 (it's called "Patriot") when the familiar style of the Belichick Era was created by the adidas sportswear company. Nike has since assumed design and manufacturing rights for all NFL uniforms.

The old shirts, now obsolete.

Both the blue and white versions of the jerseys have removed the smaller shoulder numbers (once called "TV numbers" when first introduced to NFL numbers in the 1960s), and the gray shoulder bar (blue on the white jersey) has been replaced by alternating red and blue stripes that are a callback to the original uniforms worn by the Boston Patriots upon their introduction in 1960. The different-colored side panels on the white shirts are also gone.

As it stands, there will not be a red version or an official throwback uniform. The team said on its website that a true throwback would require a white helmet with the "Pat Patriot" logo on it, and current NFL rules prohibit the use of different helmets with a throwback uniform -- although there are discussions afoot to loosen that restriction. At that point, the team said, it would consider adding a red throwback to the mix.

And the "Flying Elvis" logo that was introduced at the start of Bill Parcells' tenure as head coach in 1993 remains the only logo officially displayed on the team's uniforms. It remains on both sleeves of the jerseys and both sides of the helmets.

The Patriots' announcement said that talks to alter the team's primary uniform began in 2016, so it's not as if the team decided to make a change just because Tom Brady packed his bags and shuffled off to Tampa Bay. It sometimes takes five years for such a design change to be approved and implemented. But the question that begs to be answered is, "Why change at all?" After all, the Patriots' 2000 redesign carried them through nine Super Bowl appearances and six victories, and became the look that most of America loves to hate.

The answer is simple. They want your money.

The NFL is probably the world's most successful example of communism, in that all 32 teams benefit equally from the sale of replica jerseys or other team paraphernalia. It doesn't matter that Tom Brady's old Patriots' jersey was, for a long time, the best-selling jersey in the nation; Brady didn't see any extra income personally. But if a team's jersey does well, the increased revenue benefits all of the teams.

Look in the stands on any game day, and you're likely to see tens of thousands of replica jerseys. And most of them are new. You may chuckle to see the occasional Andy Katzenmoyer light-blue shirt with the slanted numbers and the big Flying Elvises on the shoulder, but chances are most of those you see were purchased since 2000 and probably within the past five years or so. You're not going to walk into Gillette Stadium wearing a Corey Dillon shirt when your friends are wearing newer Tom Brady No. 12s.

Now, with Brady gone and the uniform changes in effect, there will be a run on the new shirts -- and they aren't cheap. The top-of-the-line replicas were selling Monday for $150 each on the Patriots' Pro Shop web site, and the next level down was $100 each. Just one sale for each seat in the stadium could reap almost $10 million for the league, and that's not counting the millions of fans across the nation that are going to want to jump on the bandwagon.

And it's not just the Patriots. The Buccaneers, Browns, Falcons, Rams, Chargers and Colts are also introducing changes to their uniforms this year, which means that millions of fans will be shelling out their hard-earned cash (at least those that still have hard-earned cash in the midst of the coronavirus crisis) to be up-to-date with their favorite teams.

It's diabolical. It's brilliant. And for Patriots' fans, it all starts today. As it says on the front page of the Patriots' website, "Check them out and order today."