I am excited for this drop for a few reasons. First, there are a lot of Washington alternate/quasi-throwback helmets out there from 1994, 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2020. This helmet fills in a gap. Second, I am glad they went with a black alternate with tricky logos to customize. I hope they don’t make a Browns alternate because it’s so easy for collectors to make on their own. I would prioritize a lot of other helmets first.
By my count, there’s eight alternates left from 2024 alone. And 10 throwbacks from 2024. This is a total of 18. And then there’s new alternates and throwbacks in 2025.
I do have one minor quibble. I have never been a fan of the “00.” In 2020, Riddell placed “20” on the 2020 Commanders helmet. They could have gone with “22” here. Or even a “24.” This has happened before. Riddell didn’t place numbers at all on the 1960 Patriots, 1966 Chargers, 1961-73 Chargers (traditional style), or the 2020 Chargers. Others place the year, including the 1960 Broncos and the 1960 Browns.
For those counting, that’s 10 throwbacks and 11 alternates. The NFC east has the most with five, followed by the NFC north and NFC south (4 each). The NFC has 15 and the AFC 6. I would think the next AFC team would be the Jets or Colts. We will see…
Limited Edition Counts
Throwback / Alternate
- Throwbacks: 10
- Alternates: 11
NFC: 15
- East: 5 – Commanders (1/1), Cowboys (1/3), Eagles (1/1), Giants (2/2)
- North: 4 – Bears (1/2), Packers (1/2), Lions (1/1), Vikings (1/2)
- South: 4 – Buccaneers (1/1), Falcons (1/1), Panthers (1/1), Saints (1/2)
- West: 2 – 49ers (1/1), Cardinals (0/1), Rams (0/0), Seahawks (1/1)
AFC: 6
- East: 2 – Bills (0/0), Dolphins (1/1), Jets (0/2), Patriots (1/1)
- North: 1 – Bengals (0/0), Browns (0/1), Ravens (1/1), Steelers (0/1)
- South: 2 – Colts (0/2), Jaguars (0/2), Texans (1/2), Titans (1/1)
- West: 1 – Broncos (1/2), Chargers (0/1), Chiefs (0/0), Raiders (0/0)
Release & Manufacture Dates
- 2024/03/07: Dallas Cowboys alternate – 2023/11
- 2024/03/28: Seattle Seahawks throwback – 2023/11
- 2024/04/18: Chicago Bears alternate – 2023/11
- 2024/05/09: Tampa Bay Buccaneers throwback – 2023/11
- 2024/05/30: Carolina Panthers alternate – 2023/11
- 2024/06/20: Atlanta Falcons throwback – 2023/11
- 2024/08/01: Green Bay Packers alternate – 2024/05
- 2024/08/15: Detroit Lions alternate – 2024/05
- 2024/09/05: Baltimore Ravens alternate – 2024/05
- 2024/09/12: New York Giants throwback – 2024/05
- 2024/09/26: Denver Broncos throwback – 2024/05
- 2024/10/17: New England Patriots throwback – 2024/05
- 2024/11/07: New Orleans Saints alternate – 2024/05
- 2024/11/18: Miami Dolphins throwback – 2024/05
- 2024/12/19: Houston Oilers throwback – 2024/05
- 2025/01/23: Philadelphia Eagles alternate – 2024/05
- 2025/02/06: Minnesota Vikings alternate – 2024/09
- 2025/02/20: New York Giants throwback (GIANTS logo) – 2024/09
- 2025/03/06: San Francisco 49ers throwback – 2024/09
- 2025/03/20: Houston Texans alternate (H logo) – 2024/09
- 2025/04/10: Washington Commanders alternate — likely 2024/09
I’m guessing that the “00” is the default number for their helmets simply because it’s not an eligible number to be worn by the players, although they recently allowed players to start wearing a single “0” just a couple years ago. If they were to produce helmets with a number worn by a player currently wearing a number between 0 and 99, they likely could demand a percentage of whatever Riddell makes on the helmets as compensation since it’s a helmet unique to that particular player, rather than a typical helmet that features just a logo only. So to avoid any legal issues, Riddell simply sticks a “00” on them.
I agree they should’ve made the other helmets you mentioned more authentic by including a number, notably the current Chargers helmet. It would be great if they could include the helmet numbers that the Steelers and Giants do on the front as well.
By the way, got the Cowboys helmet last Friday. Thanks again – I really appreciate it. Hopefully my check made its way to the right address.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Those are good points! At least there is a number there. Check arrived on time – glad you got the Cowboys helmet and that it’s in the hands of a fellow collector!
LikeLiked by 1 person