THIRD KITS · MLS 2026
Best MLS Third Kits for 2026: 5 Third Jerseys That Steal the Show
You know what a third kit is? It’s the jersey a club wears when it gets bored. The home kit has to respect tradition, the away kit has to not clash with anybody, and the third kit gets to show up to the party in whatever it wants. And this year adidas went all in, because the 2026 Archive Collection is the last one. Three years of throwback third kits, and this is the farewell lap.
So we went through every third kit dropped this season and picked the five that actually earn a spot in your closet. Four of them are from the Archive Collection’s final run, and one is Inter Miami’s own thing, which, of course it is.
Orlando City Third Kit
This one is a full-on time machine. Burgundy and deep red, with a bold geometric pattern across the front that looks lifted straight out of the 1994 World Cup era, which is exactly the point, because Orlando hosted World Cup games that summer. The left chest brings back the club’s USL-era three-headed lion crest, and the middle of the shirt has a retro Lions wordmark that nods to the original Orlando Lions. The jock tag has the Citrus Bowl stadium and a ’94 on it, and there’s a little boot-and-ball graphic inside the collar. It’s the kind of jersey that makes a guy at the bar start telling you about 1994 whether you asked or not.
Philadelphia Union Third Kit
Philly went clean and confident here. It’s a white shirt, and where the sponsor usually goes, they put a big retro PHILLY wordmark worked into a navy silhouette of the city skyline. The regular crest is gone, replaced with a minimalist coiled snake, which is the most Philadelphia thing a crest could ever be. The collar and cuffs have stripes of orange, red, green, light blue and navy, so it’s got some color without screaming. Wear this to a game and nobody’s asking what city you’re from.
Real Salt Lake Third Kit
This is the one people are going to point at across the stadium. A dark purple base with jagged claret mountain shapes running across the chest, stacked like a gradient, a straight-up tribute to the Utah mountains. Then they hit it with gold: a retro Real Salt Lake wordmark across the chest, a gold crest, gold adidas logo and gold trim on the collar and cuffs. Purple, claret and gold sounds like a lot on paper. On the shirt, it absolutely works.
Vancouver Whitecaps Third Kit
Deep navy with yellow and red accents, and the crest is recolored to match the whole palette. Here’s the part I love: no sponsor on the front. Instead there’s a stylized Vancouver wordmark inside a yellow banner, surrounded by red floral details, so the middle of the shirt actually looks like a piece of art instead of an ad. Yellow three stripes on the shoulders, thin red and yellow piping on the collar and cuffs. It’s the most grown-up shirt on this list.
Inter Miami Third Kit (Cénit)
The odd one out, because it’s not part of the Archive Collection. Miami did their own thing, which tracks for a club that does its own thing about everything. Cénit is a white kit made to celebrate the team moving into its new stadium, with a subtle tonal geometric pattern inspired by the stadium’s canopy. It sits next to the pink home kit and the black away kit, so if you already own those two, this finishes the set. It’s quiet, it’s clean, and it looks great in a Miami summer.
That’s the lineup. Go Orlando or Real Salt Lake if you want a jersey people talk about, Philly or Vancouver if you want something sharp you’ll actually wear on a Tuesday, and Miami if you’re collecting the whole set. And since this is the last Archive Collection, the four retro ones won’t be getting a sequel. Grab yours while they’re still on the shelves.