How baseball hats became a key element of the NFL Draft, plus the changes for 2025

New York Times

24-04-2025

When a player's name is called during the first round of the NFL Draft, the transition to the pros just doesn't feel official until they put on their new team's hat. It's the first piece of team apparel they wear and it signifies a new beginning for the player, the franchise, and its fans.
That visual has become a central part of the draft ceremony over the years thanks in part to some big-name quarterbacks who have commanded attention.
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Back in 2012, when New Era first started making the NFL's sideline and draft hats, the Indianapolis Colts had to replace Peyton Manning. They drafted Andrew Luck out of Stanford No. 1 overall, then Washington traded up to No. 2 and selected Heisman Trophy winner and eventual Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III from Baylor.
New Era senior director of licensed management Tim Shanahan (he's not related to Mike and Kyle, we asked) says that draft marked a key moment for the brand most known for being Major League Baseball's official hat maker. New Era had worked with the NFL decades prior on 'general fan gear,' but 2012 marked its first year as an official partner with visibility on television broadcasts.
'It was exciting. It was a huge thing for the company because previously the business was mainly dominated under MLB business,' Shanahan said. 'The NFL, getting on the field was kind of the beginning of us getting into a lot more licensed (products). Also it was the first time we really got our branding on the sidelines. The New Era flag was not on the MLB hats at the time (it eventually made its debut on MLB hats in 2016 and the World Baseball Classic in 2017), so it was real exciting at that time to be not only official, but get our flag and brand out there and get that recognition and association with the NFL.'
Last year, the draft provided yet another highly-touted quarterback combo with the top two picks. The Chicago Bears drafted USC's Caleb Williams first overall, then the Washington Commanders drafted yet another Heisman winning quarterback and the eventual 2024 rookie of the year, LSU's Jayden Daniels.
Both star quarterbacks were handed dark graphite 59/50 fitted caps with their new team logos on the front that seemed to pop off the hat. The hats also featured a little local flare stitched on the side. Williams and Daniels' initial moments and key adjustments for proper fit and swag with their hats were captured with a mirror camera to let fans watching the NFL Draft share in the first moment it was placed on their heads, charging their respective fan bases with hope.
The #NFLDraft Cam is both a brilliant bit of sponsorship between the @NFL + @NewEraCap and a cool piece of tech.
The setup is comprised of a @RED_Cinema Komodo 6K camera behind a two-way mirror at the 'hat pedestal' in the walkway between the Green Room and the Draft Theater. pic.twitter.com/X1gOFf5Pbx
— Brandon Costa (@SVG_Brandon) April 27, 2024
'We really (liked) that (three dimensional look for the logo) especially on stage and how it looks, so that's why we kind of went to a more dark base across all teams (for 2024),' Shanahan said. 'And then to add some extra flavor to it, it was the first time in a while that we started to be really hyper local so every team had an individual unique side hit. A state with a slogan and an image of something that's unique to that fanbase. That was kind of what we were aiming for. Simplistic look, but adding a nice kind of unique flavor per market.'
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New year. New draft. New hat.
Those have been the rules since New Era took over the NFL's headwear, creating new NFL Draft hats every season in a design process that takes about a year and a half to finalize. Those hats are seen live on the Draft Day stage and the home viewing parties of select prospects who are mailed a package with all 32 hats so they can eventually grab the one corresponding to the team that drafts them.
Every NFL Draft hat design from 2012-2024. (Photos: New Era)
'Internally, we have a design team that comes up with individual concepts based off of what's trending, in both fashion and (with) fans. We'll put some general concepts together, review internally and then once we get to a direction that we really really like, then we review with the NFL,' Shanahan said.
This year's top two quarterback prospects, the University of Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado University's Shedeur Sanders, likely won't go one and two overall like Luck and Griffin in 2012 or Williams and Daniels in 2024, but the intrigue of which hat they'll put on remains.
The 2025 NFL Draft hats debuted last month, with a few key differences from previous years.
For the first time since New Era took over making draft caps, the 59/50 fitted, the base hat model for MLB and the NFL, won't be the cap handed out during Thursday's first round. That's not for lack of popularity according to New Era, which says its NFL 59/50 hats remain top sellers and an evergreen product.
The hats handed out to draft picks this year will be 'A-Frame fitted.'
'It's still a fitted cap but the A-Frame has a pinched front at the top and the panel is flat so you don't have the seam embroidered, so it's a little bit more of a flat surface and an open surface and kind of comes up to a little more of a point on the top of the hat,' Shanahan said.
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The 2025 NFL Draft hats will feature olive branch designs on the rims and individual pins for each team. The decision to move away from a frequently remixed 59/50 norm that had been working for over a decade came from internal research of current trends.
'We're looking at what's trending and what's out there,' Shanahan said. 'We started first with the silhouette. We knew A-Frame was trending huge over the last year just from a lifestyle perspective and now … its hit that peak where it's still lifestyle but it's hitting more of the wider audience … become more mainstream. We thought it was a great time to elevate that and bring that to the stage of the NFL.
'We thought (the olive branch was) a cool little unique treatment that makes it seem a little bit more premium to add that extra element on the visor. Then we went with a really basic look from a front panel, team name, city name … and then the last finishing touch was building upon last year's side hit with a pin on the cap. Pins have been trending. You've seen it in other areas like Crocs. It's a little higher end.'
New Era's NFL hats provide a different type of billboard effect when it comes to seeing star draft picks and veteran players wearing their product on their heads. Whereas in baseball the hat is part of the uniform and will be seen on the field of play for the entirety of a game, football is different. Players are seen in their hats on draft day and then that footage goes off into the NFL Films ether. On game day, players and coaches are only seen with the hats when they are not playing and on the sidelines.
'Given that obviously baseball you get such great visibility with 162 games across a long season … but from the NFL, while not (as) many games …. all the social clips that are out there, replaying of games, and media, so the exposure is not just the game but it just continues throughout the whole week. Obviously head coaches and quarterbacks are our prime targets because they're where the camera is always on, but definitely what we get from (the) NFL is really great on that side.
A quick huddle to go over a play on a tablet between players and coaches can be its own mini ad according to Shanahan.
'It's amazing. Fans they do say, I want the cap that coach X and X is wearing or so and so player is wearing,' Shanahan said. 'It definitely translates down to the consumer for sure.'
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But it's the draft hat that plays a symbolic role in a player's journey, and the importance of it is felt by the people behind the hats, as well.
'You finally see your work come to fruition. A year and a half in development, testing, everything and finally to see these players that are going to be possible future hall of farmers down the line wearing them…it is cool,' Shanahan said. 'You kind of get lost in it, but when you see that (draft pick) Thursday night wearing it, it all comes to life.'
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(Top photo of team hats being brought into the 2012 NFL Draft:)