Ike Opara was a huge part of the Sporting Kansas City backline for 6 seasons and consistently one of the best defenders in Major League Soccer.
Opara was named to the MLS Best XI in 2017 and 2019 and also named the MLS Defender of the Year in both of those seasons. He was with the club for their second MLS Cup title in 2013, as well as the 2015 and 2017 US Open Cup titles.
Ike was hampered by injuries at various times throughout his career, but the proof was in the performance; when he was on the pitch he was a game changer for Sporting Kansas City throughout his tenure.
Ike Opara was traded to Minnesota United after the 2018 season. SKC has struggled for consistency on the backline since he departed. Opara currently serves on the coaching staff of SKC II with former teammate Benny Feilhaber.
Ike's black secondary kit has some signs of wear with a bit of pilling and some loose threads. It is signed by him on the back of the shirt.
These black shirts were a neat departure from indigo/navy blue for SKC with their secondary kits. The silver accents and lettering/numbering really popped and was a decent middle ground between their more traditional colors and the beloved black argyle.
These black secondary kits were introduced prior to the 2018 season and meant to be the third iteration of the club’s argyle branding, albeit with the argyle look being a bit understated.
They featured the argyle design on the below the back collar and on the front left hem. Sporting Kansas City paired the black jerseys with the same metallic silver lettering that was found on the 2015/2016 white argyle third kits.
The badges and MLS patches on these kits were also done in metallic silver and black.
While not a homerun, these secondary shirts were an interesting departure for the club and are pretty inoffensive from my perspective. For my money they are a much better use of the mono-color design in comparison to the 2022/2023 State Line 4.0 navy blue/indigo secondary kits.