{{Short description|Explanation and list of NFL captains}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} thumb|New York Jets 1st-year captain patch [[File:NflColtsCaptainPatch.jpg|thumb|right|80px|Indianapolis Colts 3rd-year captain patch]] [[File:NflBearsCaptainsPatch.JPG|thumb|right|80px|Chicago Bears 5+-year captain patch]] In the National Football League (NFL), the team captain designation is a team-appointed position that designates certain players as leaders on and off the field. The captains program was implemented by the NFL Player Advisory Council established by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in conjunction with the NFL Players Association. Starting in {{NFL Year|2007}}, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains.<ref>* {{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000058893/article/nfl-captains-c-patch-comes-with-varied-roles-responsibilities?module=HP11_content_stream|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910123214/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000058893/article/nfl-captains-c-patch-comes-with-varied-roles-responsibilities?module=HP11_content_stream|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2012|title=NFL captains: 'C' patch comes with varied roles, responsibilities|publisher=National Football League|last=Darlington|first=Jeff|date=September 6, 2012|access-date=September 6, 2012}}</ref>
==Rules== '''NFL rule 18''' details the guidelines for team captains. Within Rule 18, there are four articles that pertain to:
# Number of team captains # Coin toss procedures # Choice on penalty option # Change of [team] captains
'''Coin toss procedures''' – Each team can send as many as six team captains to the center of the field. On each team, one captain is designated the "speaking captain" of the delegation. The visiting team or the team designated "visitor" by the referee (if no team is declared 'visitor') shall choose "heads or tails" or in the case of a special ceremony coin, the options on the face and rear of that coin.
After the winning captain makes their choice, the opposing team captain chooses from the remaining two options.
'''Choice on penalty option(s)''' – The offended team captain has a choice of accepting a penalty enforcement or declining, except where said penalty is automatically "enforced by rule". In some circumstances, a team captain may elect to "decline" the penalty. This typically happens in a situation in which declining the penalty may mean that the next down should occur (3rd or 4th). A good example would be on an "offensive holding" enforcement, the defensive team might elect a "4th down and 5 yards to gain" v. a "3rd down and 15 yards to gain."
==The "C" patch== Players who have been named a team captain typically wear a "C" patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast (depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team). The number of gold stars on the patch represents the number of years that player has been named captain by a team. If he has been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. On some teams' color rush jerseys, plus the Cincinnati Bengals' white uniforms, the stars (and "C", for captains with over four years of service) use team colors.
During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color such as pink for breast cancer awareness or camouflage for military service recognition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-supports-breast-cancer-awareness-month-09000d5d822a6217 |title=NFL supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month |publisher=National Football League |date=September 28, 2011 |access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref> In 2018, NFL began a partnership with the American Cancer Society using a multi-color captain patch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/crucialcatch|title = NFL Crucial Catch|website = NFL.com}}</ref>
Some teams (e.g. Pittsburgh and New England under former head coach Bill Belichick) do not use the patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. The decision to wear or not wear patches can come from the coach or a team vote.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.titansonline.com/news/why-titans-captains-aren-t-wearing-the-c-patch-17738547|title = Why Titans Captains Aren't Wearing the "C" Patch}}</ref> Pittsburgh has never used captains patches during the lengthy tenure of head coach Mike Tomlin, although they have named permanent captains. To date, they are the only team to have never worn patches. Baltimore had never worn patches either until the 2025 postseason.
Other teams who do not use the patch designate captains weekly. John Harbaugh has followed this practice in the regular season since becoming head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, however, he surprisingly switched to using playoff captains in 2024, and the Ravens donned patches for the first time in franchise history.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Explanation Behind the Ravens' New Captain Patches|url=https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/ravens-debut-captain-patches-playoffs-steelers|access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref> This is the same practice as the Green Bay Packers have often followed: the team named weekly captains during the regular season, but would switch to assigning captains (who wore patches) for the entire postseason whenever they qualified. Mike McCarthy kept this up when he became coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. With the hiring of head coach Matt LaFleur in 2019, the Packers began assigning three weekly captains alongside three permanent captains, but in 2023 they reverted back to weekly captains for the regular season and individual playoff games, with no patches. The Kansas City Chiefs also only name captains for their playoff runs.
By and large, teams do not adorn the jerseys of weekly captains with patches. However, in 2019 the Carolina Panthers voted Gerald McCoy as a captain for their Week 2 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and affixed a patch to his jersey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2019/09/12/gerald-mccoy-voted-a-panthers-captain-tonight/|title=Gerald McCoy: 'I've been watching y'all dominate this group for years'}}</ref> He continued wearing the patch as the season continued in light of an injury to Kawann Short. Similarly, London native Efe Obada was voted a team captain for the Panthers' game there in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/efe-obada-emotional-london-return-with-carolina-panthers-it-will-stay-with-me-for-rest-of-my-life-a4260456.html|title=Efe Obada on emotional London return with Carolina Panthers: 'It will stay with me for the rest of my life'|date=October 13, 2019}}</ref>
In 2019, the NFL changed captains' patches slightly, removing the white outline at the patch's edge. Also, instead of stars "filled-in" with gold coloring to indicate years as a captain alongside "unfilled-in" white stars (i.e. a player who was in his second year as a captain would have 2 gold stars and 2 white stars on his patch), the patch now simply has gold stars indicating years served.
==Designation== While NFL rules state that teams may name up to six captains, this rule is not strictly enforced. In 2019, four teams named seven captains at the beginning of the regular season: the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, and New York Giants. That same year, the Carolina Panthers dressed seven players wearing captain patches for their week 2 matchup against Tampa Bay: Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Trai Turner, Luke Kuechly, Gerald McCoy, Kawann Short, and Colin Jones.
Captains are sometimes decided by team-wide vote, and other times are chosen by the team's head coach.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-nfl-ask-farmer-20180915-story.html|title=Ask Farmer: What do the stars under the 'C' of the captain's football jersey mean?|website=Los Angeles Times|date=September 16, 2018}}</ref> Captains are generally named after the preseason ends, and just prior to the start of the regular season. In the event of an injury to a team captain requiring them to miss one or more games during the season, a replacement may be named. The decision to name (whether weekly or permanently) or not name captains rests with the head coach, who can suspend captainships should they so choose.
One notable example of suspension occurred when the New York Jets ended the use of designated team captains after an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the fourth quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in three years. Rex Ryan, coach of the Jets at the time, suspended the captains program for the organization. In 2015, under new head coach Todd Bowles, the Jets resumed appointing captains weekly.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7411183/source-captain-santonio-holmes-quit-new-york-jets-loss|title=Source: Captain Holmes 'quit' on Jets in loss|date=January 2012|website=go.com|access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref> In Week 2 of 2018, Bowles resumed permanent captains, introduced when the Jets played the Dolphins.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://nypost.com/2018/09/28/why-todd-bowles-finally-selected-five-jets-captains/ |title = Why Todd Bowles finally selected five Jets captains|date = September 28, 2018}}</ref>
Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as an offensive captain. The starting quarterback has no other responsibility or authority on field. However, he may, depending on the league or individual team, have various informal duties, such as participation in pre-game ceremonies, the coin toss, the trophy presentation, or other events outside the game. Often compared to captains of other team sports, the starting quarterback is considered the team's leader, even before the NFL implemented the team captain's patch in 2007.
==Gold stars== Each gold star on a captain's patch indicates the number of seasons the player has served as a team captain. These are often consecutive, but not always as former Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston wore three stars on his 2019 patch despite not being named a captain the previous season; he wore four stars on his 2021 patch for New Orleans. The Panthers gave Trai Turner a gold patch in week 8 of their 2019 season after he missed 3 games due to an ankle injury, though he wore a patch with only 1 star during his previous game in week 3. Case Keenum wore a patch with two stars in week 1 of the 2019 season, but from week 2 on Keenum wore a captain's patch with 4 stars, despite only serving as a captain two seasons of his career. Teams have often used captains patches erroneously and without regard to the stars, with discrepancies occurring even mid-season. In 2017, Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams wore a patch with 5 stars and a gold 'C', but the Bills admitted this was a mistake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uni-watch.com/2017/10/26/c-stands-for-confusing/|title = 'C' Stands for 'Confusing' › Uni Watch|date = October 26, 2017}}</ref>
==List of current NFL captains== Players listed in '''bold''' currently wear the 4+ star all-gold captain patches. These players have been team captains for at least four seasons, but not necessarily consecutively.
†Indicates teams not using captain patches during the 2025 season.
{{asterisk}}Indicates the number of years a player has served as a captain, represented on the patch by stars.
{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="width: 18%;" | Team ! style="width: 32%;" | Offensive captain(s) ! style="width: 34%;" | Defensive captain(s) ! style="width: 32%;" | Special teams captain(s) |- | Arizona Cardinals<ref>{{Cite web |last=McManaman |first=Bob |title=Cardinals Name Captains For 2024 Season With Player Vote |url=https://www.azcardinals.com/news/cardinals-name-captains-for-2024-season-with-player-vote|access-date=September 10, 2024 |website= |language=en-US}}</ref> | James Conner****, Hjalte Froholdt*, '''Kyler Murray''' | '''Budda Baker''', '''Calais Campbell''', Mack Wilson* | Joey Blount* |- | Atlanta Falcons<ref>{{cite web |last=Waack |first=Terrin |date=September 2, 2024 |title=Falcons name four team captains for 2024 season |url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-team-captains-2024-cousins-jarrett-bates-matthews |accessdate=September 2, 2024}}</ref> | Chris Lindstrom**, '''Jake Matthews''', Michael Penix Jr.* | Jessie Bates III****, Kaden Elliss* | Bradley Pinion*** |- | Baltimore Ravens<ref>{{cite news|title=The Explanation Behind the Ravens' New Captain Patches|url=https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/ravens-debut-captain-patches-playoffs-steelers|access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref> | colspan=3 align=center | Appointed weekly |- | Buffalo Bills<ref>{{cite news|title=Bills named these players as 2024 team captains|url=https://www.buffalobills.com/news/bills-voted-these-players-as-2024-team-captains-josh-allen-terrel-bernard|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | '''Josh Allen''' | Terrel Bernard** | None |- | Carolina Panthers<ref>{{cite news|title=Panthers name four captains for 2024, including Bryce Young, two veteran defenders|website=panthers.com|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article291702495.html|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Bryce Young*** | Derrick Brown** | JJ Jansen*** |- | Chicago Bears<ref>{{cite news|title= Bears announce eight season-long captains|url=https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-announce-eight-season-long-captains-2024-season-caleb-williams-jaylon-johnson-dj-moore-marcedes-lewis-cole-kmet-kevin-byard-tremaine-edmunds-tj-edwards|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Joe Thuney*, Caleb Williams** | Kevin Byard**, Grady Jarrett* | Cairo Santos* |- | Cincinnati Bengals<ref>{{cite news |title=Bengals Announce 2043 Team Captains|url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-announce-2024-team-captains|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Orlando Brown Jr.**, '''Joe Burrow''', Ja’Marr Chase*, '''Ted Karras''' | Trey Hendrickson*, B.J. Hill*, Logan Wilson* | None |- | Cleveland Browns<ref>{{cite news |title= Myles Garrett and Deshaun Watson among 5 team captains for the Browns |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/myles-garrett-and-deshaun-watson-among-5-team-captains-for-the-browns-in-2024 |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | '''Joel Bitonio''' | '''Myles Garrett''', Denzel Ward** | Corey Bojorquez* |- | Dallas Cowboys | '''Dak Prescott''', CeeDee Lamb* | Osa Odighizuwa*, Donovan Wilson* | Brandon Aubrey**, CJ Goodwin** |- | Denver Broncos<ref>{{cite web |date=September 3, 2025 |title=HC Sean Payton announces 2025 season captains as chosen by Broncos players|url=https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/hc-sean-payton-announces-2025-season-captains-as-chosen-by-broncos-players|access-date=September 5, 2025 |website=denverbroncos.com}}</ref> | Quinn Meinerz**, Bo Nix**, '''Courtland Sutton''' | Talanoa Hufanga*, D.J. Jones*, Alex Singleton***, Patrick Surtain II** | Wil Lutz** |- | Detroit Lions<ref>{{cite news |title=Detroit Lions announce six captains for 2024 season |url=https://www.detroitlions.com/news/the-daily-drive-lions-announce-six-captains-for-2024-season |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> |'''Jared Goff''', Penei Sewell***, Amon-Ra St. Brown*** | '''Alex Anzalone''', Aidan Hutchinson** | Grant Stuard* |- | Green Bay Packers<ref>{{cite web|url=https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/09/03/packers-wont-have-permanent-captains-in-2024/|title=Packers won't have permanent captains in 2024|access-date=September 7, 2024}}</ref> | Josh Jacobs***, Tucker Kraft*, Jordan Love* | Rashan Gary*, Xavier McKinney***, Quay Walker* | Isaiah McDuffie* |- | Houston Texans<ref>{{cite news |title=7 Texans named as team captains for 2024 season |website=HoustonTexans.com |url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/7-texans-named-as-team-captains-for-2024-season |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Nico Collins*, Dare Ogunbowale**, C.J. Stroud*** | Azeez Al-Shaair***, Will Anderson Jr.*** | None |- | Indianapolis Colts<ref>{{cite news |last=Foster |first=Amanda |title=Colts announce 5 team captains for 2025 season |url=https://www.colts.com/news/colts-announce-5-team-captains-2025-daniel-jones-quenton-nelson-kenny-moore-deforest-buckner-zaire-franklin |access-date=August 29, 2025 |website=Colts.com}}</ref> | '''Daniel Jones''', '''Quenton Nelson''' | '''DeForest Buckner''', Kenny Moore II**** | '''Zaire Franklin''' |- | Jacksonville Jaguars<ref>{{cite web|title=Jacksonville Jaguars Name Captains for 2024 Season |url=https://www.jaguars.com/news/jacksonville-jaguars-name-captains-for-2024-season|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Robert Hainsey*, '''Trevor Lawrence''' | '''Josh Hines-Allen''', Jourdan Lewis*, Foye Oluokun**** | Logan Cooke*** |- | Kansas City Chiefs<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article298747753.html|title = Chiefs announce their six captains for the NFL postseason with a GQ-style photo|date = January 19, 2025}}</ref> | '''Travis Kelce''', '''Patrick Mahomes''' | Nick Bolton**, Chris Jones*** | '''Harrison Butker''', James Winchester* |- | Las Vegas Raiders<ref>{{cite web |title=Raiders announce team captains for 2025 season |url=https://www.raiders.com/news/geno-smith-maxx-crosby-aj-cole-2025-nfl-team-captains |access-date=August 29, 2025 |website=raiders.com}}</ref> | Geno Smith** | '''Maxx Crosby''' | AJ Cole**** |- | Los Angeles Chargers<ref>{{cite web |title=Chargers Announce 6 Captains for 2025 Season |url=https://www.chargers.com/news/captains-2025-season}}</ref> | '''Keenan Allen''', Joe Alt*, Bradley Bozeman**, '''Justin Herbert''' | Daiyan Henley*, '''Derwin James''', '''Khalil Mack,''' Denzel Perryman*** | Appointed weekly |- | Los Angeles Rams<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rams name 2025 season captains |url=https://www.therams.com/news/rams-name-2025-season-captains |access-date=August 29, 2025 |website=rams.com}}</ref> | Rob Havenstein****, '''Matthew Stafford,''' Kyren Williams* | Quentin Lake**, Nate Landman*, Kobie Turner** | Ethan Evans* |- | Miami Dolphins<ref>{{cite web |title='They've earned their stripes.' Meet your 2024 Miami Dolphins captains |date=September 2, 2024 |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/ve-earned-stripes-meet-2024-162422206.html|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Aaron Brewer*, Alec Ingold****, Tua Tagovailoa**** | Jordyn Brooks*, Bradley Chubb**, Zach Sieler** | None |- | Minnesota Vikings<ref>{{cite web |title=Vikings Name Captains for 2025 Season |url=https://www.vikings.com/news/team-captains-2025-season |access-date=August 29, 2025 |website=vikings.com}}</ref> | Justin Jefferson***, Aaron Jones**, J.J. McCarthy*, '''Brian O’Neill''' | Jonathan Greenard*, Josh Metellus****, '''Harrison Smith''' | Andrew DePaola*** |- | New England Patriots<ref>{{cite web|title=Patriots Announce 2024 Captains|url=https://www.patriots.com/news/patriots-announce-2024-captains|website=patriots.com|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Hunter Henry****, Drake Maye* | Marcus Jones*, Harold Landry*, Robert Spillane*** | Brenden Schooler* |- | New Orleans Saints<ref>{{cite web|title=Discover the New Captains of the Saints—Unveiled Today!|date=September 5, 2024 |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/discover-new-saints-captains-hill-davis-mathieu-jordan|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Brandin Cooks**, Alvin Kamara***, Erik McCoy*** | '''Demario Davis''', '''Cameron Jordan''', Justin Reid* | Blake Grupe*, Zach Wood*** |- | New York Giants<ref>{{cite web |last=Salomone |first=Dan |title=Giants vote 5 team captains for 2025 season |url=https://www.giants.com/news/captains-2025-russell-wilson-brian-burns-dexter-lawrence-bobby-okereke-darius-slayton |access-date= |website=giants.com}}</ref> | Darius Slayton*, '''Russell Wilson''' | Brian Burns****, Dexter Lawrence****, Bobby Okereke*** | None |- | New York Jets<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jets Announce 6 Captains for 2025 Season |url=https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/jets-2025-captains-justin-fields-garrett-wilson-alijah-vera-tucker-quinnen-williams-jamien-sherwood-marcelino-mccrary-ball |access-date=August 29, 2025}}</ref> | Justin Fields**, Alijah Vera-Tucker*, Garrett Wilson* | Jamien Sherwood*, Quinnen Williams*** | Marcelino McCrary-Ball'''*''' |- | Philadelphia Eagles<ref>{{cite web |title=Eagles announce 2025 team captains |url=https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/eagles-announce-2025-team-captains}}</ref> | '''Saquon Barkley''', A. J. Brown***, '''Jalen Hurts''', Lane Johnson****, Jordan Mailata** |Zack Baun*, Reed Blankenship* | Jake Elliott**** |- | Pittsburgh Steelers<ref>{{cite web |title=Steelers name team captains for 2023 NFL season |date=September 4, 2023 |url=https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/pittsburgh-steelers-news/2023/9/4/23858601/steelers-team-captains-2023-nfl-season-kenny-pickett-tj-watt-cam-heyward |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref>† | Aaron Rodgers | Cameron Heyward, T. J. Watt | Miles Killebrew, Payton Wilson |- | San Francisco 49ers<ref>{{Cite web|title=49ers Announce 2022 Team Captains|url=https://www.kget.com/sports/sports-illustrated/arena-nfl/si-san-francisco-49ers-nfl/10964636/the-49ers-name-eight-captains-for-2024/|access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref> | Kyle Juszczyk**, '''George Kittle''', Christian McCaffrey**, Brock Purdy***,'''Trent Williams''' | Nick Bosa***, Deommodore Lenoir*, '''Fred Warner''' | None |- | Seattle Seahawks<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/seahawks-news/seattle-seahawks-make-change-to-captain-selection-process |title=Seattle Seahawks Make Change to Captain Selection Process |date=August 31, 2024 |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref>† | colspan=3 align=center| Appointed weekly |- |- |- | Tampa Bay Buccaneers<ref>{{cite web |title=Bucs Choose 2024 Captains, Lavonte David Gets 11th "C" of His Career |url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-choose-2024-captains-lavonte-david-11th-career |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=buccaneers.com}}</ref> | '''Mike Evans''', '''Baker Mayfield''', Tristan Wirfs*** | '''Lavonte David''', Vita Vea****, Antoine Winfield Jr.*** | None |- | Tennessee Titans<ref>{{cite web |title=Titans Announce Seven Captains for 2025 Season |url=https://www.tennesseetitans.com/news/titans-announce-seven-captains-for-2025-season |access-date=August 29, 2025 |website=tennesseetitans.com}}</ref> | Tony Pollard*, Calvin Ridley*, Cam Ward* | Cody Barton*, Amani Hooker*, '''Jeffery Simmons''' | Morgan Cox*** |- | Washington Commanders<ref>{{cite web |title=Washington Commanders' New Team Captains Approach Under Dan Quinn's Leadership |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/commanders/news/washington-commanders-new-team-captains-strategy-dan-quinn#:~:text=SCORES-,Washington%20Commanders'%20New%20Team%20Captains%20Approach%20Under%20Dan%20Quinn's%20Leadership,foster%20a%20dynamic%20team%20environment. |access-date=September 10, 2024 |work=Commanders.com | date=September 2, 2024 }}</ref> | colspan=3 align=center | Appointed weekly |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
team Captain (z)