Why do some NFL players have ‘C’ patches and stars on their jerseys?
Eagle-eyed NFL fans many have noticed some jerseys look a little different to the rest. While there are plenty of unique patches across the league, including one worn by the likes of Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott, certain players on most teams will be seen with a ‘C’ patch and stars. Bills quarterback Allen is wearing a gold ‘C’ patch this seasonGetty But what exactly do those represent? What is the NFL’s ‘C’ Patch? Players who have been named a team captain typically wear the ‘C’ patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program, with patches in their colours that are worn on the front left or right breast. The number of gold stars on the patch, underneath the ‘C’, represent the number of years that player has been named captain by a team. One gold star would represent one year, two stars would represent two years, three stars for three years and four stars for four years. If a player has been named captain for longer than four years, the ‘C’ on the patch is also turned gold. Players like Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all currently wear gold patches. During special weeks, the patch may be a different colour, such as pink for breast cancer awareness or camouflage for military service recognition. In 2018, the NFL began an partnership with the American Cancer Society by using a multi-coloured captain patch. Does every NFL team wear the ‘C’ patch? While ‘C’ patches are a common sight across the NFL, some teams – including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens – do not use the patch on their jerseys. Rodgers is another NFL star with a gold captain’s patchgetty Some NFL teams choose not to wear ‘C’ patchesGetty However, they still designate captains and the decision to wear or not wear patches can come from the coach or a team vote. Pittsburgh and Baltimore have never used the patch during the respective tenures of their head coaches Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh. What do captains do in the NFL? Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains. On each game day, they are involved in coin toss procedures and can make choices on a penalty option. For the coin toss, each team can send as many as six team captains to the center of the field, but on each team, one captain is designated the ‘speaking captain’ of the delegation. The visiting team chooses ‘heads or tails’ and the winning captain can either choose to kick or receive to begin the game. NFL captains are involved in the coin toss before gamesGetty If a penalty occurs during a game, the offended team captain has a choice of accepting a penalty enforcement or declining, except where said penalty is automatically ‘enforced by rule’. talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio, and you can stay up to date with all the latest from around the league via our dedicated ‘EndZone’ YouTube channel.
Eagle-eyed NFL fans many have noticed some jerseys look a little different to the rest.
While there are plenty of unique patches across the league, including one worn by the likes of Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott, certain players on most teams will be seen with a ‘C’ patch and stars.
But what exactly do those represent?
What is the NFL’s ‘C’ Patch?
Players who have been named a team captain typically wear the ‘C’ patch on their jerseys.
There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program, with patches in their colours that are worn on the front left or right breast.
The number of gold stars on the patch, underneath the ‘C’, represent the number of years that player has been named captain by a team.
One gold star would represent one year, two stars would represent two years, three stars for three years and four stars for four years.
If a player has been named captain for longer than four years, the ‘C’ on the patch is also turned gold.
Players like Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all currently wear gold patches.
During special weeks, the patch may be a different colour, such as pink for breast cancer awareness or camouflage for military service recognition.
In 2018, the NFL began an partnership with the American Cancer Society by using a multi-coloured captain patch.
Does every NFL team wear the ‘C’ patch?
While ‘C’ patches are a common sight across the NFL, some teams – including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens – do not use the patch on their jerseys.
However, they still designate captains and the decision to wear or not wear patches can come from the coach or a team vote.
Pittsburgh and Baltimore have never used the patch during the respective tenures of their head coaches Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh.
What do captains do in the NFL?
Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains.
On each game day, they are involved in coin toss procedures and can make choices on a penalty option.
For the coin toss, each team can send as many as six team captains to the center of the field, but on each team, one captain is designated the ‘speaking captain’ of the delegation.
The visiting team chooses ‘heads or tails’ and the winning captain can either choose to kick or receive to begin the game.
If a penalty occurs during a game, the offended team captain has a choice of accepting a penalty enforcement or declining, except where said penalty is automatically ‘enforced by rule’.
talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio, and you can stay up to date with all the latest from around the league via our dedicated ‘EndZone’ YouTube channel.
