The Cleveland Browns are going back in time to make a tweak to their look for the 2024 NFL season.
White facemasks are returning to the Browns' helmets, the team shared Wednesday. The team had brown facemasks on their helmet since 2015, rocking the look with the orange helmet.
But prior to 2006, the Browns wore white facemasks with orange helmets for decades. They had the white facemasks from 1975-95 before the team moved to Baltimore. When the Browns returned as an expansion franchise in 1999, the team brought back the orange helmet, white facemask look, keeping it through the end of the 2005 season.
The look is commonly associated with the Browns' best years in the modern era. They wore white facemasks with orange helmets in the 1980 "Kardiac Kids" season and in the three seasons that Bernie Kosar quarterbacked the team to the AFC Championship Game in the late 1980s. Those remain the only three AFC Championship Game appearances in the franchise's history.
"We are excited to honor our storied history through the return of the white facemask," Cleveland Browns Partner JW Johnson said in a statement. "As we continue to write the next chapter of Browns' history, we reflect on different eras, such as the Kardiac Kids and the return of the franchise, that led us to this place in time."
The team has brought back the white facemask look on a pair of occasions in recent years, wearing it once in each of the last two seasons. The Browns won both games.
With the facemask change, the Browns will also alter their logo. Their logo previously had a brown facemask with the helmet, but they'll also feature a white facemask now instead.
"We heard our loyal fans and are thrilled to see the white facemask featured on the Browns' helmets beginning with the 2024 season and beyond as we continue to write the history of our franchise," Johnson said.
The Browns have tinkered with their look on a handful of occasions in recent years. They had a major redesign in 2015 with the uniforms before moving back to their more traditional look in 2020. The biggest change they've made since 2020 was the addition of their all-white alternate uniforms, which include a mostly white helmet with white pants and jerseys.
The Browns are just one of a handful of teams who are redesigning their uniforms this offseason. Let's take a look at what other uniform redesigns are coming around the league.
The Jets were the first team to introduce new redesigned uniforms for the 2024 season, unveiling their "legacy collection" jerseys that pay homage to the team's Sack Exchange era. You can read more about the Jets' redesign here.
The Lions are set to unveil their new uniforms on Thursday. The team teased a look at their new jerseys on Tuesday as Lions president Rod Wood said they're looking to "honor the past" while maintaining a modern look. The Lions are coming off their first appearance in an NFC Championship Game since 1991.
The Broncos are set to introduce new uniforms for the first time since 1997 on Monday, April 22. While the team's logo and colors will remain the same, the uniform will undergo a "full redesign," team president Damani Leech said in March.
The Houston Texans are set to unveil their new uniforms on Tuesday, April 23. However, the team's white uniforms were already leaked, updating the way the jersey numbers look.
The Texans logo appears to remain the same in the initial leak.
