For the first time in franchise history, the Saints will be dumping their gold helmets for at least one game and wearing a different one. In a surprising announcement on Thursday, the Saints revealed that they'll be wearing a black helmet at some point during the 2022 season.
The franchise has existed since 1967 and in the 54 years since then, the Saints have worn a gold helmet in every single game. Although the team hasn't officially announced when the black helmets will be worn, they did unveil the new look during Thursday's announcement.
New Helmet Drop…. 🔥
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 16, 2022
The Saints will wear a black helmet for a game(s) this season.
The specific game(s) are yet to be confirmed 👀 pic.twitter.com/utN6Hid0NA
The Saints did wear a black helmet during the 1969 preseason, but they never wore them for a regular-season game that year.
In honor of the New Orleans Saints announcing they will wear black helmets at least once this season, Billy Kilmer sporting the black helmet. The Saints wore them in 1969 preseason only. pic.twitter.com/I8n1FcHFfN
— Cool Old Sports (@CoolOldSports) June 16, 2022
Here are a few more angles of the new helmet.
First Look 👀#Saints pic.twitter.com/QKMYdNru5Y
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 16, 2022
One unique aspect of the new helmet is that the team is getting rid of the solid stripe down the middle. Although there is still a stripe on the helmet, it's made of up of tiny versions of their fleur-de-lis logo.
The announcement by the Saints likely won't be the last time this summer where we see an NFL team surprisingly unveil a new helmet. For the past 10 years, NFL teams were only allowed to wear one helmet, but that's no longer the case. The league rescinded its one-helmet rule in 2021 and when that happened, the NFL announced that teams would be free to wear an alternate helmet starting with the 2022 season and the Saints are now taking advantage of that rule.
Besides the Saints, the Falcons have also announced that they'll be wearing an alternate helmet this season (Atlanta will be wearing a red helmet, which you can see by clicking here). According to UniWatch, there could be as many as 15 teams that end up wearing an alternate helmet for at least one game, and right now, the Falcons and Saints are the only two that have been confirmed.
The Patriots have been hinting all offseason that their "Pat Patriot" helmets will be returning this year, so it won't be surprising at all to see that happen. Also, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has said that his team will be wearing black helmets for at least one game this season, but Philadelphia has yet to unveil the new look.
As for the Saints, you can see a more photos of their new helmet by clicking here.