The football uniform evolved over decades — and continues to — like none other among the major sports.

Leather helmets are long gone, replaced with the latest technology to prevent concussions. Pads are lighter, but more protective. Jerseys less restrictive, cleats more comfortable and responsive.

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But there is another element not officially part of the uniform that has taken over, whether by lending a performance hand or bolstering a player’s fashion sense — or maybe both.

Gloves are the game’s new craze. Like what was vogue before them, the gloves’ popularity began in the NFL more than a decade ago, trickled down to the college ranks and now engulfs the high school level and even youth leagues.

“I’m so used to them having them. I don’t know any receiver that doesn’t have gloves,” Reed coach Ernie Howren said. “I hadn’t noticed it for so long because everyone had them.

“The thing that brought it to my attention is that my little boy, who is playing flag football for the first time this season, had to have gloves. ‘I have to have gloves. Dad, you have to go buy me gloves.’”

Gloves for all

It is not just wide receivers who ditched Stick-um, the aptly-named adhesive players applied to their hands in the 1970s that was banned by the NFL in 1981, in favor of gloves.

Defensive backs now wear them for the same reason as receivers and running backs. But linebackers and linemen have their own type, with pads on both sides of the hand for protection.

“I think anybody who doesn’t throw the ball is wearing gloves,” North Valleys coach Ty Gregg said.

Though even some quarterbacks have played in gloves when it wasn’t cold, like Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater and former NFL MVP Kurt Warner.

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“And they’re so specific these days,” Gregg continued. “Linemen have their gloves that serve their purpose, and receivers and DBs and running backs have their gloves that serve their purpose. Back when I played, linemen just wore those padded things around their fingers and receivers put Stick-um on their hands. Things have changed.

“To me, it seems like it would be harder to catch the ball with gloves because you lose the feel. But I think with gloves these days, you get everything.”

North Valleys receiver Jesse Krueger, who leads all Division I North pass catchers with 779 yards, has worn gloves every year except his first season in the Sierra Youth Football League seven years ago.

“I was a center that year,” Krueger said.

“They help me catch the ball, help me not scratch my hands. I could play good without gloves, but they’re security just to back me up.”

Reed’s Devin Gray didn’t wear gloves until two years ago and said he uses them more as protection from the elements than as a pass-catching aid.

“It helps a little bit. The balls we use sometimes have a hard texture so the gloves ease it up on your hands,” Gray said. “But I mostly use them to keep my hands warm. I have sensitive hands. If I have cold hands, I won’t be catching that well.”

Coaches warn that gloves can become a crutch.

“It seems like if a guy doesn’t have his gloves, he’s lost,” Gregg said.

Gregg’s Panthers do some ball-handling drills without gloves to get the feel of the ball.

“But as soon as the drill is over, they’re Velcro-ing the gloves back on,” the coach said. “I really see that kids are dependent on them to function. They’re dependent on them on the football field.”

Fashion forward

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They’re also dependent on them to make a statement — a fashion statement.

“I like to stand out, be different. If I see someone with the same gloves, I want to change mine up,” said Gray, who dons a pair of black and yellow adidas gloves.

Krueger’s black gloves spell out “NIKE” in white on his palms when he puts them together like he’s about to catch a pass. It’s the latest craze.

When Baltimore’s Ray Rice interlocks his thumbs, the Ravens logo appears in his palms. The Oregon “O” is formed when Ducks players put their forefingers and thumbs together.

“Guys like to show them off,” Krueger said.

Big business

There is a price to showing off.

Both Krueger and Gray said they have two pairs of gloves. Krueger has a practice pair and a game pair; Gray has a backup set in case his primary gloves get ripped.

At between $20 and $50 a pair, gloves can run as much as $100 a season.

According to Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource, football glove retail sales were at $200 million in 2011, up from $160 million in 2010. Nike, outfitter for all 32 NFL teams, dominated the landscape with 57 percent of sales last year. Under Armour was second with 21 percent, followed by Cutters (15 percent), the only non-shoe and apparel company in the top four, and Reebok (6 percent).

“They’re a great billboard for the goals we’re trying to achieve,” said Mark Daniels, adidas’ director of football.

— USA Today Sports contributed to this report.

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