Three solid color football helmets and a monochrome uniform in a stadium tunnel

NFL Alternate, Throwback and Color Rush Uniforms: The Rules

NFL teams can wear an alternate, throwback or Color Rush uniform up to four times per regular season in 2026, and they can carry up to three helmet shells: a primary and two alternates. A Color Rush jersey is a head to toe, single color uniform that Nike and the NFL introduced for Thursday Night Football in 2015. The league banned alternate helmets from 2013 through 2021 over safety concerns, brought them back for 2022, and now lets alternate helmets pair with more than one jersey.

How many times can NFL teams wear alternate uniforms?

NFL teams can wear alternate uniforms up to four times per regular season. The league raised the limit from three to four in March 2025, Pro Football Talk reported, and the four game cap is still in place for 2026. That total covers every non standard look, whether it is a modern alternate, a throwback (the league calls these classic uniforms) or a Color Rush set, as Buffalo Rumblings laid out in July 2026.

Denver's 2026 schedule shows the cap in action. The Broncos wear their Orange Crush throwbacks in Week 6 against Seattle and Week 18 against the Chargers, and their Midnight Navy alternates in Week 3 against the Rams and Week 16 against Buffalo, per the team. That is four games, the maximum.

Uniform type What it is Counts toward the four game limit?
Primary home and road The team's standard colored and white jerseys No
Alternate A modern third jersey, often a different color Yes
Throwback (classic) A design from the team's past Yes
Color Rush Monochrome set first built for Thursday Night Football Yes
Rivalries Nike community inspired set, worn in one home division game No
Alternate helmet with a primary jersey New shell, standard home or road jersey No

The NFL helmet rule for alternate and throwback uniforms

The NFL helmet rule is the key to how throwbacks look. The league stopped allowing a second helmet in 2013 over concerns that wearing more than one helmet might not be safe for players. From then until 2022, every uniform a team wore had to work with the same helmet shell.

In June 2021 the league approved alternate helmets for the 2022 season. The conditions, per ESPN, were that the second helmet must be the same make, model and size as the player's primary helmet, and that players wear it in practice during the week before it is used in a game.

The limit grew again on April 10, 2024, when a league memo allowed a third helmet: teams going through a redesign could use it in 2024, and every team could from 2025. In 2025 the NFL also allowed an alternate helmet to be used with more than one jersey. For 2026, wearing an alternate helmet with a home or road jersey does not count toward the limit of four, which is why fans are seeing combinations that have never been worn before.

What is a Color Rush jersey?

A Color Rush jersey is a monochrome NFL uniform, with jersey and pants in the same bright team color, created by Nike and the NFL for Thursday Night Football. The first Color Rush game was on November 12, 2015, when the Jets wore all green and the Bills wore all red. Eight clubs tested the uniforms in 2015, and in 2016 the league and Nike rolled out Color Rush sets for all 32 teams, worn on Thursday nights.

What happened to NFL Color Rush?

The Thursday night program ended, but the uniforms did not. In April 2018, FOX, which had taken over Thursday Night Football, said Color Rush uniforms would no longer be used on Thursday nights. Teams kept their sets as optional uniforms, and a Color Rush game now counts as one of a team's four alternate appearances.

What are the NFL Rivalries uniforms?

The Rivalries program is the first league wide uniform promotion since Color Rush debuted in 2015, according to SportsLogos.Net. Nike designs a uniform inspired by each team's community, and the team wears it in one home game against a division rival.

The AFC East and NFC West launched their Rivalries uniforms in 2025. The AFC South and NFC North debut theirs in 2026, per NFL.com; the Packers wear theirs in Week 5 against Chicago and the Texans in Week 11 against Indianapolis. Each Rivalries uniform stays in a team's lineup for three years, in addition to its existing alternates. The NFC East and AFC West follow in 2027, with the AFC North and NFC South in 2028.

New NFL alternate uniforms and helmets for 2026

Several clubs added new looks this season, per SportsLogos.Net:

  • Buffalo Bills: gray "Nickel City" alternates and royal blue alternate helmets.
  • Baltimore Ravens: a new "Purple Rising" alternate uniform.
  • New York Jets: a white alternate helmet for their "White Out" look.
  • Indianapolis Colts: anvil inspired Rivalries uniforms with a new metallic blue helmet.
  • Los Angeles Rams: "Fearsome White" and "Classic Sol" throwback inspired alternates.

Can NFL teams wear throwback uniforms in the playoffs?

Normally, no. League rules state that teams cannot wear their alternate or classic uniforms in the playoffs, so postseason games feature standard home and road jerseys, SportsLogos.Net explained before the 2024 to 2025 Wild Card round. The league has granted occasional waivers, with the Rams in Super Bowl LVI and the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX cited as examples.

Commemorative patches travel with these uniforms too: the 49ers' 80th season patch is worn on their home, road, throwback and Rivalries jerseys in 2026, per SportsLogos.Net. Our guide to every NFL jersey patch explains what each one means.

Shop the looks

Whether your team's best look is a throwback, an alternate or the standard home jersey, the full NFL jersey collection covers all 32 teams. Denver fans can start with the Bo Nix Broncos jersey, and Bills and Packers fans with the Josh Allen Bills jersey or the Jordan Love Packers jersey.

Frequently asked questions

How many alternate helmets can an NFL team have?

An NFL team can use up to three helmet shells in a season: its primary helmet and two alternates. The third helmet option came from an April 2024 league memo and opened to all 32 teams in 2025. Alternate shells must match each player's primary helmet in make, model and size.

Why did the NFL ban alternate helmets?

The NFL stopped allowing a second helmet in 2013 because of concerns that switching between helmets might not be safe for players. The league reversed course for the 2022 season, approving alternate helmets as long as they match the primary helmet's make, model and size and are worn in practice beforehand.

Do Color Rush uniforms count as alternate uniforms?

Yes. A Color Rush game counts toward the four non standard uniform appearances an NFL team is allowed each regular season, the same as a modern alternate or a throwback. The exceptions are the Nike Rivalries uniforms and an alternate helmet worn with a standard home or road jersey, which do not use up one of the four.

Can NFL teams wear alternate uniforms in the playoffs?

Generally, no. League rules state that alternate and classic uniforms are not worn in the playoffs, so teams play postseason games in their standard home and road jerseys. The NFL has granted rare waivers, with the Rams in Super Bowl LVI and the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX among the examples SportsLogos.Net cites.

When did Color Rush start in the NFL?

Color Rush started on November 12, 2015, when the Jets wore all green and the Bills wore all red on Thursday Night Football. Eight clubs tested the idea that season, and all 32 teams received Color Rush uniforms in 2016. FOX dropped Color Rush from Thursday nights in 2018, but teams still wear the sets as alternates.

Sources

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