Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

NFL Launches Gold Patch Initiative – Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley among Five Players to Receive Prestigious Honor

5 players to wear special NFL logo gold patches on jersey collar

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In view of keeping things exciting each season, the NFL has undertaken various initiatives over the years, and the latest one, starting from this season, will be the introduction of gold patches for players to wear on their jersey collars.

The intriguing aspect of this new initiative is that it will be meant only for a selected group of players, while the remaining players in the league will continue to wear the traditional NFL league shield on the collar of their game jerseys.

The MVP gets a gold NFL patch this season 👌#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/LHkKpfcfFR
— Buffalo Fanatics (@BfloFanatics) September 2, 2025

Players Who Will Be Honored with Gold Jersey Patches

The gold patches the league will be rolling out from the upcoming season will first be seen in the season opener on Thursday night. The patches will be affixed to the jerseys of the reigning league MVP and the players of the year and have been inspired by the NFL Honors logo.

All players who have won the Associated Press (AP) MVP and player of the year awards for the previous season will sport the gold patches for the entirety of the new season. Thus, the five players who will be awarded the gold patches for the 2025-26 NFL season are as follows:

Bills quarterback – Josh Allen – 2024 NFL MVP
Eagles running back – Saquon Barkley – 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
Broncos cornerback – Patrick Surtain II – 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year
Commanders quarterback – Jayden Daniels – 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year
Rams linebacker – Jared Verse – 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

NFL has announced their 5 players to wear 'gold shield' patches in place of the traditional NFL shield patch to honor 5 award winners 🏆

• MVP – JOSH ALLEN

• OPOY – SAQUON BARKLEY

• DPOY – PAT SURTAIN II

• OROY – JAYDEN DANIELS

• DROY – JARED VERSE pic.twitter.com/QgHahcJYt9
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 3, 2025

A mark of distinction achieved on the playing field

This initiative is another great way to honor the players who have had standout performances during the past season and is a mark of excellence on the field.

Furthermore, it is also a timely reminder for others in the league to strive towards greatness. The league’s other patches that denote similar excellence include the captain’s badge with a ‘C’ as well as the Walter Payton Man of the Year patch. The latter, once earned by a player, remains on his jersey throughout his NFL career.

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Jared Verse

Jayden Daniels

Josh Allen

NFL

NFL gold jersey patch

Patrick Surtain II

Saquon Barkley

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!