The Philadelphia Eagles have long waited for the day to bring back their "Kelly green" uniforms, which have been finally willed into existence. Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie announced at the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday the franchise will bring back the wildly popular uniforms worn by the organization until 1996, when Lurie switched the team colors to the current "midnight green" used for the past 25 years.
The uniforms will debut in 2023, when the Eagles have a Kelly green alternate helmet to match the jersey. In addition, Lurie announced the Eagles will wear a black helmet to match their black alternate jersey -- which debuted in 2003.
"We really wanted to go back to the classic Eagles jersey, but we wanted to do it the right way," Lurie said. "It's what our fans have wanted. It's what we wanted. We wish we could deliver it right away, but it takes a two-year process. The 2023 season we're going to have the classic Eagles green uniform and helmet."
The Kelly green throwbacks the Eagles will use are from the Randall Cunningham era, the team's home uniform from 1985 to 1995. The Eagles wore a Kelly green jersey with gray pants, which were a staple of the uniform for several decades.
Go Birds. pic.twitter.com/PsrqW5mkz5
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 29, 2022
Teams can have up to four sets of jerseys (home, away, two alternates) during a season. By 2023, the Eagles will have a home (midnight green), road (white), alternate one (black), and alternate two (throwback). Philadelphia is hoping the black helmets can be in the rotation in 2023, giving the Eagles three different helmet designs (midnight green, black, Kelly green). If the NFL doesn't pass a third helmet, the Eagles will just use midnight green and Kelly green for the throwbacks.
"Our players love wearing black, and they love the all-black (uniform)" Lurie said. "We're going to match the black jersey with the black helmet. We've listened to you. We wanted this from the beginning."
The Eagles are the third team since the "one-shell rule" was lifted to announce a throwback jersey. The New England Patriots will bring back their "Pat Patriot" throwback red jerseys this upcoming season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "orange creamsicle" uniforms will debut in 2023.
The combination of helmet and jersey combinations will appear endless if the NFL approves three different helmet designs for franchises. The Eagles are looking to take a step forward in uniform design.
