Dawgs By Nature
The franchise now has available a wide array of uniform options
The Cleveland Browns finally took the final step with their franchise. No, the helmets are still devoid of any decal or logo. Apparently, this will never change.
Which the majority of the fanbase is in agreement with. If an actual poll were taken of every Browns fan across the globe, yes, there would be some who could be in favor of making a sticker of Brownie the Elf, or that new Dawgs logo, or perhaps some type of “C” attached to each side. Maybe, “CLE”?
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But the vacant sides are a tradition. And Cleveland Browns fans aren’t apologizing or explaining, for that matter. It just is.
Is anyone asking Penn State why they don’t have anything on the side of their helmets with just a single stripe? Ohio State, anyone? Boston College, Army, and Navy are all examples. Why, Notre Dame has absolutely nothing.
Plus, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a logo only on one side of their helmet. And yes, that has its own story.
For most of the Cleveland franchise’s life, the helmet has been orange. The facemask has been altered many times from gray to white to brown, but the lid remained orange. Various years had different striping.
In 2023, the team brought out the white helmet with two brown stripes and a center orange stripe with brown facemasks. These are a nod to the original white helmets, but are not historically accurate in that the origins were solid white helmets, whereas these contained stripes. Therefore, the new white helmets are a new design.
This new Browns helmet is a first, dubbed “Alpha Dawg.” For one, it is the first hat in this color. Both the orange and white versions feature two brown stripes with a single white stripe in between, commonly called the “Oreo stripes,” but brown has never been used as a base color.
Another original aspect of this new Browns helmet is that it is the first to feature just two stripes. Other versions have featured three or one stripes, but never two.
This 2025 version is the third helmet to feature a brown facemask. This debuted in 2015 with the orange helmets with the uniforms that said “Cleveland” across the jersey front, and “Browns” down the pant legs. The brown facemask is the only color used on the 2023 white helmets.
Let’s dive into this new look for a second and see if there is an agreement on something.
Take a detailed look at this ensemble. Dark brown helmet with matching brown facemask. Solid brown socks. Solid brown pants (except for a smallish orange Nike swoosh). Solid brown jersey with orange numbers and nameplate.
That is a ton of darkness. But why?
Throughout the past 25 years, teams have gravitated to adding black to their color palette.
The San Francisco 49ers began with red and white uniforms before adding silver...
