What Is The ‘A’ On A Football Jersey? Captain Meaning
If you’re watching a football game and wondering what that “A” on a player’s jersey chest stands for, you’ve probably mixed up the two sports—or you just happened to see a particular team’s special design honoring its history.
To state the conclusion upfront: in the National Football League (NFL), under no circumstances is an “A” patch used to denote an “alternate captain.” A true NFL captain sports a highly visible “C” patch on the right chest, accompanied by several gold stars. In the National Hockey League (NHL), the letter “A” is used to denote the alternate captain.
However, if you happen to be watching a Kansas City Chiefs game right now, you’ll notice that their players do indeed have a large, circular “A” logo on the left side of their chests. That represents the American Football League (AFL), which was established specifically to permanently honor the team’s founder, Lamar Hunt. Today, let’s clear up this cross‑border confusion and take a look at how the NFL actually designates team leaders, while also teaching you a trick: how to spot the meaning behind the various patches on jerseys like an old‑time pro.
Cross-border Oolong: Ice hockey’s “A” meets rugby’s “C”
The reason why many fans search everywhere for “what is the on the football jersey” is because they unconsciously put the ice hockey rules on the green field. In the NHL, there is a strict hierarchy: a team can have only one captain (wearing the “C”) and at most two alternate captains (wearing the “A”). When the captain touched the ice, the vice captain immediately took over the power to negotiate with the referee.
But the leadership structure in rugby is entirely different; they emphasize “equality at every level.” The head coach of the NFL can appoint up to six captains each season. The status of these six people is completely equal, and all the clothes are affixed with the same “C” character mark. In the NFL uniform specification, there is no such visual identification as “vice captain” or “assistant captain.
The NFL’s “Star Upbound” system (this is the real captain’s ranking)
The NFL doesn’t rely on letter-swapping to distinguish between captains’ seniority, they play the “Look at the Venus” system. As long as a player serves as captain for one consecutive year on the current team, an additional gold star will light up on the horizontal bar at the bottom of the “C” emblem on his chest. In your first year as captain, you’ll receive the team’s standard‑color “C” with a single star; if you serve as captain for five consecutive years (or more) on that team, you’ll be immortalized—you’ll not only earn an emblem adorned with four golden stars, but the “C” itself will transform into an exquisitely prestigious solid gold.
Revealed the truth: what is the “A” on the jersey?
To really answer that question, you have to go through the history of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are the only team in the league to have a huge “A” sticker permanently on their jerseys. Take a closer look at the patch: 1 white-headed sea eagles fly past a red “A” and a football-this is the original logo of the American Football League (AFL).
Lamar Hunt, the founder of the Chiefs, was also a key driver in the creation of the AFL league in 1960, and later a central figure in the merger of the AFL and the NFL. After the old man died in 2006, in order to commemorate his great achievement, the Chiefs permanently sewed the “A” patch on the left chest of each jersey. Therefore, this “A” has nothing to do with whether the player is the captain or not.
P.P.P. rule: insiders know jersey patches in seconds
In fact, if you want to know what a patch is for, just look at where it is sewn on the clothes. I have summed up a set of “P.P.P.(Patch Location Pyramid)” rules. With it, you can crack NFL uniform codes like jersey collectors without searching the Internet.
Right Chest: Active Honors and Positions
The NFL has strictly left the right chest of the jersey to the player’s active duty and important awards. This is the official “C” word captain of the fixed site. If a player wins the gold-rich Walter Payton Player of the Year award, that special “mantle doll” patch will also be sewn on the right.
Left Chest: Remembrance and Inheritance
On the left, near the heart, teams are dedicated to displaying permanent historical heritage or temporary memorial signs. Which explains why the Chiefs AFL “A” sign that pays homage to Lamar Hunt is sewn here. If a team owner, coach or legend dies, the team will also post a small black circle with the initials of the deceased here to commemorate a season.
| Patch Location | Designation Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Right Chest | Active Leadership / Awards | NFL “C” Captain Patch / Walter Payton Man of the Year Patch |
| Left Chest | Heritage / Memorials | Chiefs AFL “A” Patch / Deceased Owner’s Initials |
| Upper Left Shoulder — Hockey | Alternate Leadership | NHL “A” Alternate Captain Patch |
Guide to Avoid Pits: Custom jerseys are randomly marked with “A” and are fake at a glance.
If you specifically ask the merchant to add an “A” sign to you when customizing NFL jerseys, you are definitely a pure layman in the eyes of hard-core jerseys. Many unreliable third-party jersey workshops will pop up an option of “add $15 to upgrade vice captain a” when you order online. These fake factories actually grabbed a hot stamping “A” from the assembly line where they made ice hockey jerseys and stuck it directly to the rugby template, purely to cheat more money from buyers who didn’t know how to do it.
If you really pay for this, then this expensive custom jersey becomes a complete joke on historical common sense. Listen to the advice, if you want your custom jersey to look authentic and wear it to a fan party, just choose the “C” mark honestly and match it with the correct number of stars.
People Also Ask (FAQ)
Can NFL teams actually appoint assistant captains?
Cannot. The NFL’s official rulebook does not recognize the title or role of “assistant captain” at all. Each team may appoint up to six official captains, who enjoy equal authority and status on the field and all wear identical “C” badges on their jerseys.
When did the “C” on a football jersey first appear?
“C” stands for Captain. The NFL only began implementing this specific patch system in 2007, with the aim of visually recognizing the “locker room leaders” chosen by their teammates and coaches.
Do college football teams use “A” to denote the assistant captain?
NCAA jersey‑wearing rules sometimes allow for a bit of flexibility; in extremely rare cases, a head coach might privately use an “A” to denote the team’s alternate captain, but this is exceedingly uncommon. The vast majority of college teams either dutifully follow the NFL and wear a “C” on their helmets, or simply forgo any captain’s patch altogether.
Why is it that only the Chiefs have this AFL patch in the entire league?
After all, Lamar Hunt was the driving force behind the AFL, the rival league that gave the NFL a run for its money. The Chiefs wear this “A” logo because Lamar Hunt was not only their owner, but his family still controls the team to this day. They used this patch to ensure that the elder’s profound historical impact on professional American football would be passed down for generations to come.
What’s that little green dot on the back of a football helmet for?
A green dot indicates that the player’s helmet is equipped with a one-way radio receiver, used to listen to in-game tactical instructions from the coaching staff. This is purely a communication badge, entirely different from the captain’s “C” on the chest, which signifies honor and leadership.