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The NFL has a reputation for making rules and regulations that take some of the enjoyment out of the game. They’ll fine players for celebrations or for wearing the wrong cleats. An NFL quarterback was even fined for wearing a headband. The league does things like this so often that people say NFL stands for No Fun League.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league offices are surely aware of this reputation. The NFL often plays into it or, at the very least, makes rules that show they don’t at all care about this reputation. However, a recent rule change will finally give fans something we’ve wanted for a long time: sweet throwback uniforms.

The NFL will allow helmets of different colors in 2022

a new NFL helmet color rule will allow for throwback like the ones seen here: (L-R) Houston Oilers Earl Campbell in action, rushing vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1983; Seattle Seahawks Steve Largent in action vs Denver Broncos Robert Jackson in 1984.
(L-R) Houston Oilers Earl Campbell in action, rushing vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1983, Seattle Seahawks Steve Largent in action vs Denver Broncos Robert Jackson in 1984 | Photo by John Iacono /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images; Photo by Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

The NFL made a rule in 2013 that most fans probably aren’t even aware of. In the name of player safety, the league dictated that all teams could only have one helmet color, per The Athletic. The idea being, players practicing and playing in the same helmet would make players safer from concussions.

Starting in 2022, teams will now be able to have one alternate helmet color. This helmet has to be the same brand, style, and size as their primary helmet for each player. Players must also have the helmet to begin training camp and be able to wear the secondary helmet in practice leading up to the game they will wear them in.

This rule change opens up a world of uniform possibilities that should thrill NFL fans.

The new alternate NFL helmet colors will lead to some great throwbacks and some not-so-great ones

Many NFL teams have made helmet color changes over the years. This meant that there are some classic throwback uniforms that NFL fans haven’t seen in almost a decade.

The throwbacks that fans are demanding include the Seattle Seahawks blue and dark green uniforms with silver helmets from the Steve Largent era, the Houston Oilers-turned-Texans white helmets with the baby blue oil derrick, and the classic white Patriots helmet featuring Pat the Patriot from the pre-Brady and Belichick years.

The white Dallas Cowboy helmets from the 1960s, the pre-1990s red Atlanta Falcons helmets, the lighter blue Denver Broncos helmets from Orange Crush days, and the Jim Kelly K-Gun red Buffalo Bills helmets are all fan favorites as well.

Not all alternate helmets will be a treat, though. There are plenty of alternate helmet colors that teams should keep buried in their past.

These unappealing helmet colors include brown Broncos helmets, light blue and yellow Philadelphia Eagles helmets, and yellow Pittsburgh Steelers helmets, which are all headgear we don’t need to see again.

With this new rule, we will absolutely see the most polarizing uniform in NFL history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers “creamsicle” getup. The bright orange and white with the pirate face on the side is loved by some fans and reviled by others. It will surely be brought back, though, in 2022.

Teams may try cool concept helmets

Not all teams have throwbacks with different color helmets. That’s ok, though. The new NFL helmet color rule states that teams can wear alternate helmets with throwbacks or a team’s alternate or Color Rush jerseys.

This could lead some teams to try some exciting helmet color and logo designs that could redefine their brand. Like any other time an NFL team tries something new, there will surely be hits as well as misses.

Some interesting helmet colors teams that don’t have a great throwback option could try include all-black helmets from the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints, aqua helmets from the Miami Dolphins, or red headgear for the San Francisco 49ers. Also, mockups of white Cincinnati Bengals helmets with black stripes are already circulation on social media.

The new NFL helmet color rule may not end the No Fun League reputation, but it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. And while the new/old uniforms will put a smile on many fans’ faces, the NFL will also sell a lot of throwback jerseys because of it. So, this isn’t a completely fan-focused move by any means.

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Staff Writer, Producer - NFL

Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.