The Green Bay Packers confirmed our report from last month when they unveiled hand-painted “leather” helmets on Thursday morning that will be worn with their new 1923-inspired throwback uniforms, which celebrate their first season as a publicly owned corporation.
The navy blue jerseys feature gold block numbers and three thin gold stripes on the sleeves, mimicking the striping pattern that extended all the way down the arms on the Packers’ 1922-24 long sleeve sweaters.
It was long believed that Green Bay wore gold jerseys at the time, but team historian Cliff Christl uncovered evidence in 2023 that they were actually navy blue, ultimately inspiring today’s design. The team even updated the display at their Hall of Fame to reflect this change.
The jerseys did not originally feature numbers on the front, but similar to how the Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to modify their 1933 throwback uniforms, the Packers added them to comply with modern league standards.
Similarly, the Packers wore 1929 throwback uniforms – which featured the same navy blue and gold colour scheme – from 2010-11 and 2013-14, and they were paired with plain brown helmets that were supposed to mimic a leather design for the first two seasons.
This time, however, the uniforms will be worn with airbrushed “leather” helmets that include straps, stitching, holes and shading. It’s a design unique to the NFL, although the Washington Redskins wore hydro-dipped helmets in 2012 that featured a faux-leather pattern.
The Packers’ new helmets are similar to those worn by the Illinois Fighting Illini as they celebrated the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium last fall. Both helmets even have navy blue facemasks that match(ed) the base colour of the jerseys.
The throwback uniforms are complete with tan pants and navy blue socks, which were also a prominent part of Green Bay’s aforementioned 1929 throwback uniforms and the 1940s-era design the Packers wore from 2015-19.
The Packers did not reveal when their uniforms will debut, though they will almost certainly replace the 1950s throwback uniforms in their wardrobe. They can be worn as many as four times this season, although their white alternate helmets will reduce that number.
Photos courtesy of @packers and @PackersHOF on X/Twitter.
