When the National Football League announced last summer that the league would relax the rules on the number of helmets that could be used in a season, many Cowboys fans hoped to see the team adopt an alternative design.
The Cowboys recently announced that they will wear an alternate helmet for at least one game in 2023, but it might not be the colorful or imaginative design some hoped to see. Instead, the Cowboys will don a modern version of the helmets worn during the team’s first four seasons.
The alternate helmet will replace the silver color in use since 1965 and revert to the original white background. The two-color star on the helmet will also go back to being a solid, navy color. Face masks will be gray with two navy stripes running down the center of the helmet.
The team introduced the alternate helmet on Thursday with a 15-second video showing the helmet and some of the Cowboys great players who wore the design.
The Cowboys will also wear navy with white sleeves, white pants, and navy socks with white stripes when they face the New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day, the team’s old alternate uniform.
Between 2004 and 2016, teams were permitted to wear an alternate uniform, and the Cowboys at the time elected to give credit to the players who founded America’s Team by wearing a variation of the original uniform.
In 2016, the NFL banned teams from using more than one helmet per player as a safety precaution; football helmets become safer the more they are worn as they conform to a player’s unique features.
From then until 2021, teams were only allowed an alternate helmet when the change was merely the replacement of the logo. The Cowboys, deciding that the silver helmet would not look right with the navy and white uniform, abandoned the historical nod of the alternate uniform.
“We’re beyond excited to bring back our throwback helmets this season,” said Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones. “The white helmet, along with the throwback uniforms honoring our teams from the 1960s, have long been a fan favorite, and we’re thrilled to bring back the tradition of wearing those helmets and uniforms on Thanksgiving Day once again.”
The Cowboys are joined by three other teams introducing throwback helmets and uniforms this season. The Giants, Falcons, and Patriots will also wear retro helmet designs, though New York has decided to wear the team’s current uniform against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
In addition, 10 teams have unveiled new-look designs to be worn with the color rush uniforms. These include the Cincinnatti Bengals (white with black stripes), Houston Texans (battle red), Chicago Bears (orange), Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints (black helmets).
The NFL set very loose rules for the new-look helmets, requiring that teams wear them with alternate uniforms, throwback designs, or color rush jerseys and stating that logos must have been in use by the team at some point in history.
Players must also wear the helmet throughout the prior week of practice to ensure the padding has time to conform and provide the necessary safety.
