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Alaina Getzenberg
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bills quarterback Josh Allen‘s status as the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player will be visible in every game he plays during the 2025 season thanks to a gold patch on his jersey.
For the first time, the NFL will further recognize the achievements of some of football’s top performers from last season. Winners of five Associated Press awards from 2024 will wear a “Gold Shield” patch inspired by the NFL Honors logo, in place of the traditional NFL Shield match, on the collar of the players’ game jerseys.
The players wearing the patch are Allen (MVP), Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley (Offensive Player of the Year), Denver Broncos CB Pat Surtain II (Defensive Player of the Year), Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (Offensive Rookie of the Year) and Los Angeles Rams LB Jared Verse (Defensive Rookie of the Year).
The gold shield patches will be on the five jerseys for the entirety of the 2025 regular season and playoffs, beginning with Thursday night’s season opener between the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys (8:20 p.m., NBC).
Allen will debut his patch on Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished second in MVP voting despite being named AP First Team All-Pro. The game will mark the first time the top-two players in MVP voting from the prior season meet in a season opener since at least 1970, per Elias Sports Bureau.
This program is anticipated to continue for these awards during subsequent NFL seasons.
Wearing a gold logo to recognize players’ achievements was also introduced by MLB earlier this year. Six MLB players have gold-embellished MLB logos on the backs of their game-issued jerseys. Some of the logos from those jerseys are being used to make Topps trading cards.
This adds to the league’s patches given out to winners of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, with those winners wearing a special patch on their jerseys for the rest of their careers.