The images for historical NFL helmets illustrated on the various pages for each division are based heavily on information derived from one particular web site, 'Mike Stanhope's NFL Helmet page' (site appears to no longer exist as of 2020) and were mostly done in the period 1999- 2000. The dates of use for each helmet and the accompanying comments are also derived primarily from this source, which appears to have been very carefully researched and which I believe to be highly accurate, though I have made a number of additions through the years and have found a small number of apparent errors. Helmets for teams that have changed names or have been relocated are placed in the section for the franchise's current name (i.e, the Houston Oilers helmets are placed in the Tennessee Titans section on the AFC South page), with the exception of the Cleveland Browns.

In 1994, as part of the NFL's celebration of its 75th anniversary, most teams wore for at least a few games uniforms and helmets designed to resemble those from some earlier year in the team's history. While some teams wore the "throwback" uniforms for only a few games, others used them for most of the season, but I do not have information about for which specific games the special helmets were used. The helmet illustrations for these 1994 helmets are labelled as "1994 special" on the various pages.

Please click on the links below to see the page for each NFL division.

NFL History

The links below will open new browser windows presenting lists of NFL Super Bowl, Conference, and Divisional champions in "Helmet Project" format. The Super Bowl and Conference champions are listed since the first Super Bowl game; the Divisional champions are listed back to 1970, the first year of the NFL's six-division format and of the AFL-NFL merger. The years listed refer to the football season in question, rather than the dates when the championship game was played (for example, "2017" is listed for the Philadelphia Eagles' recent Super Bowl victory (played in 2018), which occurred at the end of the 2017 football season).

After careful consideration, I elected to display the current helmet for each team on these pages, rather than the one used by the team during the year listed, to more clearly illustrate the ebb and flow of power among the teams through the years. The use of multiple helmets for each team in such a display would interfere with the eye's ability to grasp the underlying patterns, such as the prolonged dominance of a small number of teams in the 1970s, and the emergence of great parity since about 1990. Besides, you can always see what helmet design team X wore in year XXXX on the divisional pages at the links further up on this page.

The Pro Bowl

At the end of each NFL season from 1939 through 2021 (except 2020 due to the global pandemic) the NFL held an exhibition game featuring the players deemed to have excelled during the previous season. Prior to the 1970 football season, the Pro Bowl was a game between teams representing the league's Eastern and Western Conferences; from 1970 to 2012, and from 2016 to 2021 the two teams represented the American Conference and the National Conference. From 2013 through 2015, the Pro Bowl was contested by two teams drafted by Hall of Fame NFL players, without regard to conference or NFL team (for example, the 2013 game was "Team [Jerry] Rice" vs "Team [Deion] Sanders").

Apparently from the game played January 29, 1979 to 2021 (including the "non-conferenced" teams of the 2013 - 2015 years) the players selected for the Pro Bowl game have worn the helmets of their respective NFL teams during the game, but prior to 1979 a single helmet design was used by all players on each team. Six pairs of helmet designs used during the period 1960 through 1978 have been identified (those shown below). Some of the discrepancies related to the dates of use of these designs may be due to the fact that the Pro Bowl game played in January of Year X is often referred to as the "(Year X-1) Pro Bowl".

Due to waning fan interest in the game and concerns about player injuries, for the 2022 NFL season the Pro Bowl was replaced with the 'Pro Bowl Games', a week-long series of skills competitions and a flag football game.

c.1950s - 1965

Eastern Conference	Western Conference

1966 - 1969

Eastern Conference	Western Conference

1970

Eastern Conference	Western Conference

The logo worn on these helmets commemorated the NFL's 50th anniversary.

1974

American Conference	National Conference

1976

American Conference	National Conference

1971 - 1973; 1975; 1977 - 1978

American Conference	National Conference