The release of New Era’s 2025 NFL Draft caps has sparked a surge of comments throughout the football community. While these caps are a feature of the yearly draft, this year’s designs have stirred heated controversy among both fans and analysts.
2025 NFL Draft Caps Face Backlash: Fans Demand a Redesign
Each year, before the NFL Draft, the league collaborates with New Era to make custom-branded caps for teams to distribute to their new rookie class as well as for public consumption.
This year’s caps are mainly black, with team-specific color embellishments on the bill. Each cap features the team’s name and logo, as well as a distinctive pin that represents a part of the team’s identity.
The official 2025 NFL Draft caps:
This year, each design features a franchise-specific pin on every cap.
Each player will wear it once selected.
Which one is your favorite? pic.twitter.com/monuj67zKT
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 28, 2025
For example, the Indianapolis Colts’ headgear has the words “COLTS” and “INDIANAPOLIS, IN” sewn in white, as well as the distinctive blue horseshoe and anvil pin that reflect the “Colts Forged” theme.
And each year, like clockwork, the reactions from fans to said hats tend to be pretty negative.
Here are the official 2025 New Era NFL Draft caps that players will wear once selected. This year, each design features a franchise-specific pin on every cap. Here’s a look at some of the reactions across X:
“How do these get worse every year?” one fan said.
“Another year ..another God-awful draft day hat design by @NewEraCap,” another fan said.
“Who on earth okayed these designs.. these are horrid,” another fan said.
“Is it their goal to make the draft hats ugly every year?” one person wrote.
“The NFL hasn’t had a good draft cap in a minute,” a different fan said.
“These are DISGUSTING,” another fan said.
Also Read: Travis Hunter Emerges As Rare Top-10 Certainty in Unpredictable Class
The present design strategy raises concerns about the balance between keeping a uniform appearance across all team hats and allowing specific team identities to show. While uniformity could promote a sense of equality across teams, it can also erode the individuality that fans value.
Given the loud criticism from fans, New Era and the NFL may reconsider the cap designs in future drafts. Incorporating more team-specific components and bolder color palettes could boost fan pleasure while also celebrating the NFL franchises’ unique diversity.
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