The Philadelphia Eagles are bringing back a familiar look for the home showdown with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night. The team is wearing Kelly green jerseys that were worn in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Randall Cunningham and Reggie White were leading the Eagles.
Kelly green was the team’s primary color but was changed by Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie after the 1995 season.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1996 that NFL Properties conducted a focus group survey to find out about the Eagles jerseys. Fans wanted a break from Kelly green because they viewed it as shopworn and cited it as looking too similar to the New York Jets.
Fans wanted a more modern look, and the Eagles switched to midnight green — the color they still wear in 2023.
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Eagles Kelly Green Jerseys Decade in the Making
Lurie brought up the idea of bringing the Kelly green uniforms as a throwback option over a decade ago. At the time, the NFL had implemented a rule that teams could only wear one helmet during the season in an effort to improve player safety. This forced teams to use the current helmet with any alternate jerseys.
Greg Delimitros, vice president of equipment operations for the Eagles, told the team’s official website, “Wearing the Kelly green uniform with the current helmet just didn’t feel right. Collectively, as an organization, we all felt that if we were going to do it, it had to be authentic and true to our team’s history.”
MORE: Philadelphia Eagles Depth Chart
Other teams, like the New England Patriots, made the same decision to not mix throwback jerseys with current helmets.
After the rule changed to allow for multiple helmets in a season, Lurie said in March 2022 that it would take two years to bring back the throwback jersey because Kelly green wasn’t in Nike’s color palette at the time. While waiting for the proper color match, Philadelphia wore black helmets to match black jerseys last season.
Philly Loves the Look
Eagles President Don Smolenski told the team’s website, “We recognize and appreciate the connection Eagles fans have to the Kelly green uniform. These uniforms not only honor our past and the many legends who have helped shape our franchise along the way; they also represent the passion of our incredible fans and the generations that have been authentically linked by them.”
Philadelphia received a positive fan reaction when the team announced on social media that the jerseys would be worn twice this season.
Think we posted too many memes 🤷♂️@Toyota | #KellyGreenIsBack pic.twitter.com/2PsgNhAJDh
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 29, 2023
Eagles fans started lining up at 4 a.m. for a chance to purchase the throwback jersey when it was made available at the team’s shop, which opened at 9 a.m. on July 31.
Philadelphia will also wear Kelly green jerseys in a November home game against the Buffalo Bills.