
In a surprising move, at least to me, the Philadelphia Eagles announced they will be breaking out their all-black uniforms for Sunday’s season finale against the New York Giants.
Flip the Switch ⬛️@FanDuel | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/NonaGWYXkq
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 31, 2024
The uniform decision is a surprise for a couple reasons, not the least of which is it appears the Eagles will be in violation of the “alternate” uniform rule, in which teams are only allowed to wear a throwback or alternate uniform a maximum of three times per season. While the Eagles have worn their kelly green throwbacks twice, they have not yet worn their black jerseys, so there should be no conflict with the alternate rules. However, in the opening week of the season, the Eagles traveled to Brazil and wore black helmets, white jerseys and black pants. My understanding has been that if a team wears an alternate helmet, regardless of what jersey it is paired with, that constitues an “alternate” uniform. If that is the case, then the Eagles will exceed their three times per season maximum by wearing their all-black uniforms this Sunday.
There are a couple of mitigating factors here as well. For one thing, how are the Eagles even able to wear a third helmet this season? Back in April, the NFL expanded their uniform policy to allow for third helmet design:
Teams going through a re-design process for the 2024 season have been offered a third helmet option, and it will be available for all teams for the 2025 season. The teams must inform the league office of their intent to utilize an alternate color helmet for the 2025 season by no later than May 1, 2024.
The second and third helmets, also known as “alternate color helmets,” can only be worn with one of the club’s authorized optional uniforms (classic, alternate and/or color rush). In addition, if either alternate color helmet is paired with a classic uniform, the helmet colors and designs must be historically compatible.
For the casual observer, it seems the Eagles violated two conditions — teams “going through a re-design process” are allowed a third helmet, and alternate color helmets can only be worn with an “authorized optional uniform.”
So how was it the Eagles were allowed to (re)introduce their alternate black helmet? Believe it or not, this season, the Eagles changed the small wordmark above the number and below the collar. Here’s a side-by-side:

Here’s more information on that. This one tiny change actually counts as a “uniform modification,” and it took two years for the wordmark (which the Eagles began using in their endzones in 2022) to appear on the uni. So even though nothing else changed on the Eagles uniforms, this modification means that for all intents and purposes, the Eagles have “redesigned” uniforms for this season (which also means they are subject to the “five year rule” prohibiting uni changes, so if any of you were hoping the Eagles might make their kelly green throwbacks their primary uniforms, that won’t be happening any time soon).
OK, the third helmet is fine, since the Eagles technically redesigned and therefore those adhere to the rules. But what about the game in Brazil, where they wore black (alternate) helmets? They paired those with their white jerseys, which appears to violate the “authorized optional uniforms” proscription. I have been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to ascertain if perhaps the Eagles were given some kind of exemption to the alternate helmet rule for the International Series game. That would seem to be the only reason the Eagles would be permitted to wear what is in essence a fourth alternate uniform.
You’ve NEVER seen this combo before@FanDuel | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/LUf7ZH2JdU
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 30, 2024
Now, teams have been playing a bit fast and loose with this rule over the past two seasons. A couple examples would be the Cowboys, who technically created two alternate white helmets (one to wear with their 1960s throwbacks, and a second to pair with their all-white “color rush” uniform), but since that was just one shell color, it was permitted. But the Panthers, both last year and this year, paired their alternate black helmets with their black jerseys (which are also their designated primary dark jerseys). They were able to skirt the prohibition by claiming the all black uniform is their CR uniform, so again, technically they were ok. And the Bengals did the same thing by pairing their new white Bengal helmet with their white (primary road) jersey, but again, they were able to deem that all-white uniform an alternate (I’m not sure if they refer to it as “color rush”).
TURN US UP.
It's Kelly Green Week! pic.twitter.com/7y0wDacGX6
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 29, 2024
IT’S TIIIIIIMMMMEEE
🎨: @elijah5pittman | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/baoMGErGPj
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 24, 2024
But in all those cases, those teams still only wore alternate uniforms the maximum of three times. Having worn their black helmet in Brazil, and their throwbacks (with kelly green shells) twice, it appears the Eagles have reached their “limit” already. The all-black uniform would constitute a fourth alternate, right?
And the NFL is definitely enforcing this rule. Recall that earlier this season, with temperatures in Santa Clara forecasted to approach 100°, the 49ers petitioned the NFL to allow them to wear their all-white throwbacks in a game where they had declared prior to the season they would wear their regular primary red/gold uniform. While the NFL wouldn’t allow them to wear their white throwbacks, they were able to wear their red jersey throwbacks. Prior to this season, the Niners had planned on wearing their red throwbacks this past Monday evening, but because of the mid-season “switch” to the alternate, they were required to wear their regular uniforms so as not to violate the three-max restriction. So, again, if the Niners weren’t allowed to wear a designated alternate a fourth time, why is it allowing the Eagles to do so?
I’ll continue to try to get clarification on this. But based on everything I’ve researched so far, the only explanation that makes sense is the Eagles were given an exemption for the Brazil game.
Assuming the Eagles all-black uniforms are within the uniform regulations, this will be the fourth time the team will wear the all black uniforms AND the black helmet (prior to the one shell rule being lifted, the Eagles paired their all-black uniforms with their midnight green helmets). All three previous wearings were in the 2022 season. How have they performed in them?
The Eagles debuted the all-black uniform against the Green Bay Packers on November 27, 2022. They won that game 40-33.

They next wore that combo against the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve of 2022, losing 40-34.

And the last time they wore this combination was in their 2022 season finale, which took place on January 8, 2023. The defeated the New York Giants by a score of 22-16.

While the Eagles are 2-1 in their all-black alternates, and playing the hapless Giants, it might seem like a given they’ll improve to 3-1 while wearing them. However, the Eagles are already the NFC East champions (with a 13-3 record), and locked into the #2 seed for the upcoming playoffs. With nothing on the line other than perhaps Saquon Barkley taking a shot at Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, the Eagles may end up resting their starters for a good chunk of the game. Not that the players (or fans) would attribute wins and losses to a particular uniform — *coughLionscough* — but it’s an interesting decision to wear their all-black uniforms for their final game of the season.
Circling back one last time — the Eagles had to have filed this uniform decision with the league prior to the season (as all teams must), so obviously this was approved. Which again lends a bit more credence to the theory that the Eagles were given an exemption for the Brazil game. That whole kerfuffle began when the NFL scheduled two “green” teams to play in a stadium where green is banned. The Eagles — the designated home team — were able to avoid wearing (almost all) green by wearing black helmets, white jerseys and black pants. By so doing, did the NFL greenlight (pardon the pun) the use of those by allowing them an exemption to the three-times-max alternate rule? It seems to be the only possible answer.
Discuss.
Very good article that hits on all possible theories that I had too. The Eagles have often gone mono black against the Giants so that is not a surprise, but the fact that they got away with wearing an alternate helmet 4 times in one season is a huge one. Exemption for the Brazil game is the only thing that makes sense, and in hindsight they did wear the black helmet with their white jersey which shouldn’t have been allowed in the first place. Who knew that Week 18 would have such juicy uni storylines!
I’m not a Philly fan, but if I was I’d make kelly green standard. Leave the midnight green for a occasional throwbacks, like against teams they beat in the Super Bowl/NFC championships. Better aesthetics generally, but acknowledging the midnight green look was the most successful era of the franchise, even though it makes them look like an AFC expansion/relocated team from the 1990s.
Eagles have worn black at home vs the Giants since 2014 with the exception of 2017. No clue why the Giants were chosen as the default BFBS combo. My best guess the tradition started because of the game being at night in 2014-2016. They skipped 2017 (day game) and then just decided to revert to it for good.
It would be so unique and nice looking if the Eagles were to wear color rush with midnight green which they have never done, instead of the boring ol all-black which so many teams do that its tiresome.
The green helmet and black helmet are so close. 99.999% of people will haven no idea if it’s a black helmet or green. They look the same if you are more than 5 feet away or don’t have them side by side.
Remove all the silly uniforms rules, NFL.
The Eagles COULD re-designate the Kelly green uniforms as their Primary Home uniforms, which would be 8 or 9 games depending on the season. Plus the Cowboys always wear white at home, so that’s another game in Kelly.
They re-designate the Midnight Green as the “Color Rush”, but never wear it.
Add a white version of the Kelly Greens as the new Throwbacks, and wear them three times on the road.
The Kelly lids won’t look great with the white jerseys that have the Midnight numbers, but I’d bear through it for 4 or 5 games a season to have the Eagles look good the other 12 or 13 before 2029.
Yay!!!!!!!!! And they are playing the Giants so we get another solid black vs solid white match up………
True, but at least the G-men have blue helmets, stripes on the pants, and color contrasting socks. Imagine if they were playing Miami, Indy, Arizona, LAC, Detroit or Buffalo (or the Vikings or Packers in their “winter white” ensembles).
From 2017 to 2022 the Ravens wore alternate jerseys 4 times each season except for 2020. What was the deal there?
Good question. They wore their black jerseys thrice and their purple CR uniforms once. Unless the three-alt max wasn’t in place, perhaps teams who were basically “forced” to wear CR alternates didn’t have those counted against their total? There have been teams who have been given exemptions in the past (for example, during the NFL’s 75th Anniversary season, several teams wore throwbacks more than once — San Francisco wore theirs all the way through the playoffs and in the Supe; in 2018 — and possibly more — the Rams were allowed to wear their throwbacks I believe five times, plus the post season, and they also wore their all gold CR uniforms a couple times). I don’t think Baltimore was given any exemptions, so either the 3-alt max wasn’t strictly enforced, or teams who had to wear CR (the program was still in existence for 2017, but many teams kept their CR uniforms after that). Not sure if either of those is the reason, but good question!
I think the Eagles in all-black looks pretty good.
The players, some coaches like Dan Campbell and marketing staffs of all NFL teams will not rest until every single game is all white versus all black. The only exception being the Raiders who will stick with their silver pants which will be heavily criticised by fashionista influencers and other marketing storytellers. Soooooo oldfashioned! Get with it and wear black or white pants, Raiders! The chesspiece look is soooooo much fun! As for the Eagles: trailblazing this chesspiece look movement with this uniform.
Eagles don’t really have a bad set, but the darker green and black sets are almost indiscernible to my eyes. Rather, they don’t really need the black set. If they opted for kelly as their main set I see no reason to use either of the other darker ones.
It’s gotta be that the NFL game them the exemption for the Brazil game. I’m willing to bet that once the issue came out, the Eagles asked to change helmets and pants because they could. The Packers didn’t really have this option at all with their current set.
With the Packers getting that new white helmet, the game *could* have featured the Pack in all white (yes there is some green, but not much) and the Eagles *could* have worn black helmets and jerseys (and pants too). Aesthetically it would have been brutal, but it could have kept the green to a minimum.
As others have opined, maybe next International Game, the NFL should research local customs (and color prohibitions) that affect teams playing in a certain stadium. But the fact remains that there are exactly three teams in the NFL who wear green (Pack, Eagles, Jets) and the NFL chose two of them.
Of course, it wasn’t really an issue at all, but there were definitely legitimate concerns raised prior to the game.
Question for anyone: In the old days, we used to hear about the NFL uniform police. Players would be fined if their socks didn’t match, their jersey was untucked, etc.
Does this group still exist? Based on the uniform chaos we see every week, I assume not.
If the uniform choices are set in stone early on, why has this week been such a yo-yo with what the Lions are wearing? (monoblue…no wait it’s throwbacks,…hold on it’s the alt helmet and black uni…)
I don’t know if the *exact* uniform (certainly not pants and socks) has to be given to the league before the season, but rather they must inform the league whether the home team will wear their dark or light (white) jerseys, so the opponent will wear the opposite. (Obvously, color vs. color, while rare, is permitted, so if the visitors want to wear a color, it must be of sufficient contrast with the home team). But I think the Lions — or any team — simply convey to the league before the season starts they’ll wear “dark” jerseys, but they needn’t specify which specific jersey. This is, I’m pretty certain, why the Lions uni choices are seemingly random. But “dark” could mean primary home, alternate (black) or throwback. All are dark, so their opponents know to wear white (or a jersey of sufficient contrast). The only concern regarding alternates is how many times they are permitted to be worn (supposedly three times max). But it matters not which jersey a team wears, only that it is made known whether the home team will wear dark or light, so the opponent can dress accordingly.