Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Helmets
Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Mini Helmet Collection
The new Ravens alternate dropped about a week ago. Check it out:
I haven’t heard other rumors about alternates or primary updates for 2024. With the season only about 9 weeks away, it’s unlikely another helmet will be dropped.
There are seven brand new alternates for 2024: Ravens, Lions, Texans x2, Vikings, and Jets. Since 2022, there have been 13 others. I think all of these would make a nice set 🙂
I had an incredibly busy 6 weeks. But am back! I want to express my appreciation to Michael Dole for the motivation 🙂
All of the team websites and the team checklists below have been updated. I will be busy the rest of the summer updating my collection and will post photos as they come in.
Riddell dropped factory primary helmets for 2024. These are separate from the recent “special edition” releases.
The fact these were released is a hint that these will be all of the primary helmet updates for 2024. These are available on various shopping sites.
Two special edition factory drops
Riddell dropped one factory throwback and one factory alternate for the Bucs and Panthers, respectively.
Vikings alternate
The Vikings dropped a new white alternate. All indications are that the Vikings will continue to wear the 1961-79 throwback. The Vikings will wear three helmets in 2024. A factory pocket helmet has not been announced as of today.
New York Giants Throwback
For their 100th anniversary, the Giants will wear a blue wing-front helmet with a grey facemask. No factory helmet as of June 2024.
Ravens alternate
In April, Uni Watch released a rumor about the Ravens adopting an alternate helmet in 2024. The Ravens have been a model of consistency, wearing only one design since 1999.
Broncos
The Broncos announced three changes:
The new regular helmet is basically the same as the previous helmet. It only has a different stripe. Same with the white alternate.
It appears the midnight blue alternate Denver wore between 2016 and 2023 will be retired. As will the 2023 alternate. I would not anticipate Riddell making factory versions of these pocket helmets as they are now outdated.
The Broncos twitter feed suggests the throwback is a throwback to 1977. However, the image appears to display the 1993-96 logo. As noted on my Broncos pocket helmet site, the Broncos changed the “D” logo in 1993. There’s also the issue of the color. The Broncos wore the lighter blue later, mostly in the 80s and 90s. However, there is evidence to suggest the Broncos wore multiple shades of blue in 1976-77. So, the color might match.
There’s a lot of nostalgia for this helmet. I think it looks great. But I have also liked the newer Broncos logo and helmet from the last 20 years. It has a clean, modern look. The logo also stands out. The throwback is an orange D with, from a distance, looks like a white ink blot.
Texans
The Texans released two new alternates for 2024. one midnight blue and the other red. Both are significant departures from the current helmet. The midnight blue alternate appears to incorporate Oilers colors.
A factory pocket helmet of the red alternate was not made last year (2023). I would expect this helmet to be retired and a factory pocket helmet not made.
Bears
In a big plus for collectors, Riddell announced the new Bears alternate. I am a big fan of this alternate. The Bears are my favorite NFC team.
For those keeping track, Riddell has released the following factory alternates. Other collectors have confirmed the existence of the Lions alternate, but I have not seen it for sale anywhere. The Steelers alternate is no longer manufactured.
And two throwbacks that were worn in 2023 and likely again in 2024:
Jets
The Jets released a new helmet design. This design is the same as the 1978-89 design. So, it has been worn before, but not the modern helmets. The Jets also released a black alternate.
I anticipate Riddell will release factory versions of the green helmet. It seems like Riddell is manufacturing more alternates, so I would also anticipate a release of the black helmet.
Riddell announced the release of the 1983-2001 Seahawks throwback helmet. The Seahawks wore this helmet in 2023. The original helmet was silver with a blue facemask. This is the first time Riddell has manufactured this helmet in the speed style.
Here are the updates on factory Riddell pocket helmets as of March 2024. I have only seen the Cowboys and Seahawks helmets available on the Riddell website. All others have to be purchased from secondary sellers on eBay or other sites.
Between 1966 and 1971, the Oilers had a silver helmet. Between 1966 and 1967, the helmet had red-white-blue-white-red stripes. In 1968, the white stripes were removed. The factory helmets are displayed below.
A few months ago, I noticed I never saw a helmet with the red-silver-blue-silver-red stripes configuration. Rather, the stripes were always continuous, as shown in the photos below. This was pointed out to me by fellow collector and helmet expert, Michael Eggenburg.
I had originally indicated the Oilers changed to the red-silver-blue-silver-red stripes configuration in 1971. I think I know why. Some of the stripe patterns from 1971 do exhibit a silver gap between the red and blue.
However, I think is more likely due to sloppy stripe placement than intentional design. The gap on the actual helmets is much narrower than the factory pocket helmet. So, this may not be an egregious error on Riddell’s part.
The definitive source on all these things is the Gridiron Uniform Database, which does not reference the red-silver-blue-silver-red stripes configuration. So, I am going to go with that verdict. I updated the team checklist to reflect this. In the future, I will make a custom to reflect this.
Thank you to Michael Eggenburg for bringing this to my attention!
Riddell dropped a new Cowboys factory pocket helmet in March 2024. This is the white alternate Dallas implemented in 2022. A tweet from Riddell collectables implied they are going to periodically release pocket helmet alternates.
This the fourth factory alternate Riddell has manufactured. Last year, Riddell made the white Bengals alternate. The Bengals alternate can usually be found on ebay. The Lions alternate was made this year. The Lions helmet appears to be rare. I can’t find it for sale anywhere online. About 15 years ago, Riddell manufactured the yellow Steelers alternate in the Revolution style.
If the tweet is correct, I would expect more in the alternate pocket helmets in the future. As I have written previously, an alternate set would be really nice.
Dallas is one of seven teams for which Riddell has a factory helmet for each era. All other teams have gaps that are filled in by custom designs. The other teams with complete factory sets are: Bengals, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Ravens, Seahawks and Vikings.
I suppose one could also add the Rams in the red 1948 leather helmet, to bring the number to eight. I also considered adding the Chiefs. However, I think the 2019 and 2021 “throwbacks” the Chiefs wore with the grey facemask have the modern logo. This makes them unique on their own. A custom is easy: replace a factory speed white facemask with a grey one.
As I write this, the Lions have won the NFC North. It is their first division win since 1993. Congratulations!
As many know, the Lions incorporated a new alternate helmet in 2023. It is honolulu blue with a grey facemask. The logo is a homage to the Ford Mustang logo. The logo has been around for years, but this is the first time the Lions wore it on a helmet.
This isn’t the first time the Lions have worn a Honolulu blue helmet. My research indicates the Lions wore a plain Honolulu helmet in 1949 and 1953. My research is largely based on the Gridiron Uniform Database.
The photo below is from 1953. The Lions won the NFL championship in 1953, so maybe this helmet is a positive omen.
The Lions first alternate helmet was worn in 1994. Since then, they have incorporated the following alternates in their routines:
Like nearly all alternates, Riddell did not manufacture factory pocket helmets of these Lions alternates. However, Riddell did manufacture the 2023 Lions alternate, in addition to the Bengals alternate and Eagles throwback. I saw photos of the helmet floating around online. Fellow collector Michael Dole confirmed the existence of this helmet. His photos are below:
Michael bought his helmet online. But neither of us really know where the helmet was originally obtained. The Bengals alternate and Eagles speed throwback are available on eBay, so I speculate those may only be sold in physical fan shops or the Hall of Fame store.
I have not seen the Lions helmet anywhere, however. The Lions helmet could have been manufactured for a special event or is maybe sold at a Lions pro shop. I can’t find it anywhere online.
This is only the third alternate helmet Riddell has manufactured. The others are the Steelers 2007-11 yellow and 2022-present Bengals white. I suppose one could include the Eagles throwback as an “alternate” as it was manufactured in the speed style.
Hopefully, Riddell will make this and other alternates more available in the future. An entire set would be really cool.
References:
I came across a photo on the Santuario Steelers facebook site today. Apparently, the Steelers made a slight change to their logo in 2002. The differences are subtle and have to do with the shield logos. Here are the differences:
To my previous knowledge, the Steelers only had two logos: the “Steel” logo from 1962 and the “Steelers” logo 1963-present.
I checked my Steelers pocket helmets. I did notice differences in the helmet logos. I assumed these differences were the results of minor variations in factory printing. It turns out there were also variations in the hypocycloid colors and grey ring. But they were likely intentional.
I went to the authority on all things football uniform related, the Gridiron Uniform Database. I did not see mention of a change between 2001 and 2002. This article by Bill Schaefer detailed the following history. I think the yellow helmets are using a more modern “Steelers” font. So, this could be an error on Riddell’s part.
As much as I love attention to detail, it’s daunting to research all of the minor variations in colors and fonts. I am going to slightly amend the Steelers checklist for my personal collection. Other collectors may want to be more detailed.
Here is my revised checklist:
Riddell has released two interesting factory helmets in recent months:
Photo from pocket pro facebook site, Jason Pink
Both of these helmets are in the speed style, which is more modern and updated than the traditional and two-bar styles. They are going for about $15-20 each online. A normal factory pocket helmet is about $5-10 each.
This is very unusual for Riddell. Riddell has never manufactured throwback helmets in the modern style or released factory alternate helmets, with one exception: the 2007-11 Steelers alternate throwback helmet. That was manufactured in the Revolution style. Collectors make custom helmets on their own to fill the gaps.
In a previous post, I wrote about how Riddell could manufacture four types of sets to make up for the lack of factory helmets:
2023 updates as of 8/20 for updated helmets and alternates are below. To my knowledge, only the Cardinals made a change to their normal helmet. Check my pocket helmet Teams Checklist for more details and updates about throwback helmets. I will try to make updates as I hear official announcements.
See the 2022 updates for more alternates. Some of those could be on the field this year.
Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Helmets 
