What’s the Deal With That Front Pocket on Josh Allen’s Jersey?
GQ SportsWe asked the Buffalo Bills' top equipment guy for the lowdown on the fleece-lined uniform accessory that’s sweeping the NFL.By Matthew RobersonJanuary 24, 2025Josh Allen's playoff success has been powered by the pouchAl Bello/Getty ImagesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.January is rough. It’s freezing, it’s dark, and it can be very hard to find the motivation to go outside. This is especially true in the Northeast, where two frigid football games were played last weekend during the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. For the nighttime game in Buffalo between the Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, played with a dusting of snow atop the field, starting quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson both braced themselves for the icy conditions by wearing a special type of jersey with a pocket sewn in the front.Michael Owens/Getty ImagesMichael Owens/Getty ImagesThe pocket jersey has become the quarterback outfit of choice for bone-chilling outdoor games, offering their precious throwing hands a cozy shelter between plays. It makes sense, of course, that someone whose primary job function is tossing a football would want their fingers to stay warm. Rather than wearing a glove—which can lead to grip issues—the hoodie-style pocket is a simple and streamlined option that plenty of other quarterbacks also deploy.Kara Durrette/Getty ImagesPerry Knotts/Getty ImagesThe pocket itself isn’t new, but the improved design we see today definitely is. Here’s Terry Bradshaw in 1976 wearing one, but it wasn’t nearly as well integrated into the garment as the type we’ve seen during these playoffs.Most PopularGQ Recommends11 Best Natural Deodorants, If You Insist on Using ThemBy Adrian ClarkCultureShea Whigham Is Always Wearing a Historical HatBy Gabriella PaiellaGrooming6 Winter Colognes To Get You Through the Cold Days AheadBy Adrian ClarkEven in black and white, that pocket really sticks outGeorge Gojkovich/Getty ImagesPhil Simms also opted for the pocket in this game at the Meadowlands in 1987, but like Bradshaw’s from a decade earlier, it looks like it was stapled to the front rather than built in.This pocket looks effective, but quite garishJohn Biever/Getty ImagesAllen has been wearing the sleeker, optimized pocket jersey for about three years now, according to Jeff Mazurek, the Bills’ director of equipment operations. “I order like six to eight per color, and the manufacturer will ship it,” says Mazurek, who notes that while some teams will have their local seamstress add the hand chamber, he doesn’t have to make any alterations at all once the jerseys arrive. “It’s basically just a fleece insert that they put in there, a fleece pouch with a zipper. We can put a couple heat packs in there,” he explains.For decades, the most common solution for quarterbacks facing the elements was a bulky fanny pack worn around the waist to warm their hands. Randall Cunningham used one for a playoff game in 1988. Steelers quarterback Neil O’Donnell wore one in the 1995 AFC Championship game, as did Donovan McNabb in the 2003 NFC Championship. In 2014, during Super Bowl XLVIII at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium—the only outdoor Super Bowl ever played in a cold-weather city—Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning both rocked the fanny pack. That method is still utilized today—Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts both braved the Philadelphia snow on Sunday with them—but in Allen’s case, it was proving far too cumbersome for his playing style.“He’s so mobile, and in his first couple of years he’d get tackled by the hand warmer,” Mazurek remembers. He noticed Tom Brady was using the sewn-in pocket while playing for Tampa Bay. This prompted him to chat with the Bucs’ equipment guy before contacting the Bills’ uniform manufacturer, Ripon Athletic, about making some for Allen. (Nike is in charge of the NFL jerseys, with three to four different manufacturers around the country.) “I had ‘em made and I was like, ‘Dude, what do you think?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ That’s how Josh is. He’s the type of dude where you just give him his stuff and he goes out and plays.” According to Mazurek, tight end Dawson Knox is the only other player on the Bills who likes to go marsupial mode.Most PopularGQ Recommends11 Best Natural Deodorants, If You Insist on Using ThemBy Adrian ClarkCultureShea Whigham Is Always Wearing a Historical HatBy Gabriella PaiellaGrooming6 Winter Colognes To Get You Through the Cold Days AheadBy Adrian ClarkDuring the season, Mazurek likes to play it safe when ordering his shipments of the fleece-enhanced jerseys. “I usually get them in October, because in Buffalo you never know what the weather will be like,” he says, laughing. The only time Mazurek recalls making a special request was for the Bills’ playoff showdown with the New England Patriots in 2022. The game time temperature? Seven degrees. For that frosty matchup, he asked fo
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
January is rough. It’s freezing, it’s dark, and it can be very hard to find the motivation to go outside. This is especially true in the Northeast, where two frigid football games were played last weekend during the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. For the nighttime game in Buffalo between the Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, played with a dusting of snow atop the field, starting quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson both braced themselves for the icy conditions by wearing a special type of jersey with a pocket sewn in the front.
The pocket jersey has become the quarterback outfit of choice for bone-chilling outdoor games, offering their precious throwing hands a cozy shelter between plays. It makes sense, of course, that someone whose primary job function is tossing a football would want their fingers to stay warm. Rather than wearing a glove—which can lead to grip issues—the hoodie-style pocket is a simple and streamlined option that plenty of other quarterbacks also deploy.
The pocket itself isn’t new, but the improved design we see today definitely is. Here’s Terry Bradshaw in 1976 wearing one, but it wasn’t nearly as well integrated into the garment as the type we’ve seen during these playoffs.
Phil Simms also opted for the pocket in this game at the Meadowlands in 1987, but like Bradshaw’s from a decade earlier, it looks like it was stapled to the front rather than built in.
Allen has been wearing the sleeker, optimized pocket jersey for about three years now, according to Jeff Mazurek, the Bills’ director of equipment operations. “I order like six to eight per color, and the manufacturer will ship it,” says Mazurek, who notes that while some teams will have their local seamstress add the hand chamber, he doesn’t have to make any alterations at all once the jerseys arrive. “It’s basically just a fleece insert that they put in there, a fleece pouch with a zipper. We can put a couple heat packs in there,” he explains.
For decades, the most common solution for quarterbacks facing the elements was a bulky fanny pack worn around the waist to warm their hands. Randall Cunningham used one for a playoff game in 1988. Steelers quarterback Neil O’Donnell wore one in the 1995 AFC Championship game, as did Donovan McNabb in the 2003 NFC Championship. In 2014, during Super Bowl XLVIII at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium—the only outdoor Super Bowl ever played in a cold-weather city—Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning both rocked the fanny pack. That method is still utilized today—Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts both braved the Philadelphia snow on Sunday with them—but in Allen’s case, it was proving far too cumbersome for his playing style.
“He’s so mobile, and in his first couple of years he’d get tackled by the hand warmer,” Mazurek remembers. He noticed Tom Brady was using the sewn-in pocket while playing for Tampa Bay. This prompted him to chat with the Bucs’ equipment guy before contacting the Bills’ uniform manufacturer, Ripon Athletic, about making some for Allen. (Nike is in charge of the NFL jerseys, with three to four different manufacturers around the country.) “I had ‘em made and I was like, ‘Dude, what do you think?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ That’s how Josh is. He’s the type of dude where you just give him his stuff and he goes out and plays.” According to Mazurek, tight end Dawson Knox is the only other player on the Bills who likes to go marsupial mode.
During the season, Mazurek likes to play it safe when ordering his shipments of the fleece-enhanced jerseys. “I usually get them in October, because in Buffalo you never know what the weather will be like,” he says, laughing. The only time Mazurek recalls making a special request was for the Bills’ playoff showdown with the New England Patriots in 2022. The game time temperature? Seven degrees. For that frosty matchup, he asked for a bulkier type of fleece to help withstand the brutal Western New York winds. The Bills handily won that game 47-17 before eventually losing in the infamous “13 seconds” game to the Kansas City Chiefs, the same team they’ll play on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. With the temperatures in KC expected to dip below freezing, expect to see Allen with the kangaroo pouch yet again.
“Obviously it’s working for him and it’s working for us,” Mazurek says. “Hopefully it keeps rolling.”
