The “C” on the captain’s jersey became a tradition in hockey. Several sports do not have an official jersey designation for a team’s captain. For instance, MLB teams don’t do this, and NBA franchises no longer do either.
But there are quite a few NFL stars who wear a “C” on their gameday uniform. The league formalized a policy in 2007 for each team to have a maximum number of captains in each game, which resulted in patches being worn on the jersey. Now, the NFL is entering its 18th season of allowing captain patches to get emblazoned on a uniform.
Prior to this change, some teams would just put a “C” on a captain’s jersey. Here’s an explanation of the NFL’s captain’s patch, including detailing why some are in gold.
What Is the ‘C’ Patch on the NFL Jersey?
If a player has been designated captain, he will wear a “C” patch ahead of gamedays regardless of when the game is played.
The number of stars under the “C” signifies the number of years the player has been a captain.
Why Do Some Players Have a Gold ‘C’ on Their Captain’s Patches?
When a player has been a captain for at least five seasons, the “C” on the patch — along with the stars — becomes gold. The years spent as a captain stay with a player when he changes teams. For example, J.J. Watt wore a gold “C” when he went from the Houston Texans to the Arizona Cardinals.
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs is another notable league superstar who wears a gold “C.” Mahomes’ gold patch became visible during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII appearance. He wasn’t the only Chiefs star with the gold look in front, as fellow Pro Bowl teammates Travis Kelce and Chris Jones also donned a gold “C.”
How Are Captains Decided?
Teams can select captains in any way they want and can change them at any point during the season. Most teams have players vote to determine the season’s captains. However, on some teams, the head coach will decide.
Teams can also announce their captains whenever they’d like. Some announce them over the offseason, while others release the names just before the Week 1 contest. In 2023, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles wanted to take a wait-and-see approach, so he didn’t announce the team’s captains until Week 5.
How Many Captains Can a Team Have in a Game?
Teams can have any number of captains for the season. However, each team can only have six captains for each game.
Some teams don’t use the full six slots. For example, the 2024 Los Angeles Rams voted and only selected five captains: Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Rob Havenstein, Quentin Lake, and Kobie Turner.
What Do Captains Do During the Game?
In addition to leading the team, there are three primary responsibilities for a captain during the game:
- One captain from the visiting team is allowed to call the coin toss.
- One captain from the team that wins the coin toss is allowed to declare their option (kick/receive/field direction).
- One captain is permitted to indicate the team’s penalty option.
Are Teams Required To Have Captains Wear Patches?
No. Some teams, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, have elected not to wear the captain’s patches. However, if the coaches decide to add the “C” patch, this can be changed at any time.
For example, the New England Patriots used to pass on using the “C” patch, but that will change for the 2024 season under new head coach Jerod Mayo. The Pats never had a player wear the captain patch in the two-decade era of former head coach Bill Belichick.
Tom Brady, who was a captain for 18 seasons with the Patriots, never wore the patch in New England. His first captain’s patch was with the Buccaneers. The same is true for Rob Gronkowski, who also earned his first “C” patch with Tampa Bay.
Cam Newton, who replaced Brady as captain in New England, went from wearing a gold captain’s patch with the Carolina Panthers to no patch with the Patriots.
Are There Other Patches Players Wear?
If a player is named the Walter Payton Man of the Year, he wears the award’s logo on his jersey for the remainder of his career. This change was added in 2019. The award is given to a player for his excellence on and off the field. While it has existed since 1970, it was renamed for the Bears’ Hall of Famer in 1999.
Patches can also be different colors, especially when they coincide with a monthly NFL theme. For instance, there were “C” logos that were pink to honor the league’s breast cancer awareness month. The “C” patch has also gone camouflaged during military service recognition for the month of November.