Explaining the NFL rules for alternate uniforms and helmets

If it feels like you’re seeing more alternate uniforms and helmet combinations around the NFL than ever before, you’re not imagining things.

Over the last several seasons and after their renewed partnership with Nike, the league has gradually relaxed its uniform restrictions, giving teams more opportunities to showcase alternate looks while still maintaining each franchise’s identity.

With the Buffalo Bills recently unveiling a new alternate uniform and the NFL’s new Rivalries program arriving last season, many fans have been asking the same question: What exactly are the NFL’s uniform rules?

NFL home and away uniforms

Despite what many fans believe, the home team gets to decide whether it wants to wear its official colored jersey or white jersey. Once the home team makes its selection, the visiting team simply wears the contrasting option.

NFL alternate uniforms and throwbacks

The NFL allows teams to wear alternate uniforms, throwbacks, or classic jerseys up to four times during the regular season. That four-game total includes all alternate jersey designs, regardless of whether they’re modern alternates, throwbacks, or “Color Rush” inspired uniforms.

NFL helmet rules

One of the biggest changes in recent years came when the NFL eliminated the long-standing one helmet rule. Today, teams can carry up to three different helmet designs during a season. That could include:

Throwback or legacy helmet

For the Bills this means our primary white, the alternate blue, and then they could still use the 90s red. The standing buffalo and the cold front white rivalries helmet are both base-white helmets with different stickers, and since they match the primary white, it’s not considered another helmet.

NFL/Nike Rivalries program

Just when fans thought they understood the rules, the NFL introduced something entirely new last year. Beginning last season, a number of teams started receiving a specially designed NFL x Nike Rivalries uniform.

The concept of these uniforms is intended to celebrate divisional rivalries while highlighting each franchise’s history, culture, and local identity.

For AFC East teams like Buffalo, that meant for one designated home game last season against a division opponent the NFL required the featured “Rivalries” look.

Why the Rivalries uniform is different

Unlike traditional alternate uniforms, the Rivalries collection does not count against the NFL’s four-game alternate uniform limit or 3 helmets.

Instead:

Each Rivalries uniform remains active for three seasons after its debut.
Teams are required to wear it during one designated home divisional game each year.
The program exists in addition to a team’s normal alternate uniform schedule.

One important uniform restriction for the playoffs

If you’re hoping to see your favorite alternate look during a playoff run, that won’t happen as the NFL does not permit alternate, rivals, or throwback uniforms in the postseason. During the playoffs, teams must wear their standard/primary approved home or road uniforms.

That includes the Super Bowl.

What the uniform and helmet rules mean for the Buffalo Bills

The Bills can now rotate between multiple uniforms and helmets throughout the regular season while also participating in the NFL’s new Rivalries program. The Bills could essentially wear their “Nickel City” alternates with the blue helmet, color rush with the primary helmet, 90s throwbacks with the red helmet, AND the “Rivalries” uniforms with the rivalries helmet this season without violating NFL rules.

Whether you loved or hated the newly revealed alternate uniform, one thing is clear: the days of every Sunday looking exactly the same are over. The NFL has fully embraced uniform variety, and with additional alternates and “Rivalries” designs scheduled to debut across the league, fans should expect even more debates every time they are released.

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