Packers Drop!

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In a cool drop, Riddell released the 1923 leather helmet. Some fun facts:

  • This is the oldest factory helmet, albeit a throwback. Other factory throwbacks that reference a leather helmet include the Bears 1936-37 (speed), Eagles 1940’s (two-bar, although worn as a hard shell in 1952), and Rams 1948 (traditional and two-bar).
  • The is the 2nd Packers limited edition helmet.
  • The Packers wore a plain brown helmet in 2010-11. I assume that was some kind of homage to the brown leather helmet. There is not a factory version of this helmet. The Packers have also worn a plain yellow helmet with green or grey facemasks over the years. I assume these are also a homage to the plain yellow leather helmets. But this is the first helmet that attempts to replicate the leather helmet look.

Predictably, it sold out quickly. With a ceiling of 24 helmets per order, some entreprenuers – others might choose a different name 🙂 – are selling them for around $70 each on eBay. This is a niche hobby. I can’t image there’s a market for those prices. I would expect prices to come down. Maybe I am wrong.

There are four helmets left. It appears Riddell may have moved on to 2025. If so, we have some cool options, like the two Bills throwbacks, Steelers yellow alternate, Chargers navy throwback, Saints white alternate, and Commanders burgundy alternate.

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Counts so far

Throwback / Alternate

  • Total: 36
  • 2024: 15/15
  • 2025: 21/25
  • Throwbacks: 15
  • Alternates: 19
  • Alternate throwbacks: 2

NFC: 21

  • East: 7 – Commanders 1, Cowboys 3, Eagles 1, Giants 2
  • North: 6 – Bears 2, Packers 2, Lions 1, Vikings 2
  • South: 4 – Buccaneers 1, Falcons 1, Panthers 1, Saints 1
  • West: 3 – 49ers 1, Cardinals 1, Rams 0, Seahawks 1

AFC: 15

  • East: 4 – Bills 0, Dolphins 1, Jets 2, Patriots 2
  • North: 2 – Bengals 0, Browns 2, Ravens 1, Steelers 0
  • South: 5 – Colts 1, Jaguars 2, Texans 2, Titans 1
  • West: 2 – Broncos 2, Chargers 0, Chiefs 0, Raiders 0

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Published by Ryan Smith

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4 thoughts on “Packers Drop!”

  2. It also had a price bump, from $10 to $15, we will soon find out if $15 is the new price or a one off from this very special helmet.

    525 helmets is way too low for popular teams like the Packers, Cowboys or Steelers, hopefully Riddell increases the number of helmets available per drop next year.

    The 24 limit purchase needs to be reduced to 2 or 3 to give every collector a fair chance at getting these helmets.

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  3. I thought the 24 per purchase limit was sufficient up until now. I was blown away at how quickly these “entrepreneurs” were able to blow through that limit. It would be nice if there were a way to reward regular recurring customers with some sort of priority guarantee, although it would just become another speed bump the entrepreneurs would figure out the loophole to take advantage of. I thought Ryan’s observation, that this is a “niche hobby” makes a lot of sense. In a country with 300 million people (not to mention a world with multiple billion) they only release 525 of each helmet and most of them are still available on ebay. There can’t be too many of us actually buying and collecting these things. On a positive note, maybe we’re just a pretty exclusive club.

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