Why are Kansas City Chiefs wearing special black and gold patch on uniform on Thanksgiving Day?

It’s Thanksgiving which means a mouth-watering NFL triple header is on the cards.

As ever, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are playing, with the Lions taking on the Packers in the early game followed by the Chiefs facing Dallas.

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This year the third game of the day will see the Ravens take on the Bengals in an AFC North clash.

Why are NFL Thanksgiving teams wearing black gold patches on their uniforms?

A unique addition to the 2025 Thanksgiving games is a black and gold patch which will be worn on all the teams’ uniforms.

At first glance the patches may be difficult to work out, but on closer inspection they reveal an incredibly cool homage to a legendary NFL figure.

The black and gold patches detail a silhouette of Super Bowl-winning-coach-turned-commentator John Madden with his broadcast headset on.

The patch is part of a Thanksgiving tribute to Madden, who famously loved the day, after he passed away in 2021 at the age of 85.

John Madden to be honored by NFL on Thanksgiving Day

According to NFL.com, FOX, CBS and NBC will continue to celebrate Madden’s contributions to the game, both on the field and in the broadcast booth, with tributes interspersed throughout each game on Thanksgiving Day.

Each network will select a Madden Thanksgiving MVP who will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to be given to a high school or youth football program in their name.

For the second year, each Madden Thanksgiving MVP will be awarded the Madden Thanksgiving MVP trophy. The trophy is in the form of a pylon and includes various “Maddenisms” sprinkled throughout, along with visual cues to speak to the holiday theme.

Special John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration stencils will be placed on the sidelines of Ford Field (Detroit), AT&T Stadium (Dallas) and M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore), along with stadium wall panels that include an iconic image of Madden from his coaching days.

Furthermore, a special NFL-produced Madden Hallmark will kick off each broadcast, conveying what Thanksgiving meant to him in his own words.

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NFL

John Madden will also be honored with a special coin toss

The NFL will also be honouring Madden with a special coin toss prior to each game.

One side of the coin will feature Madden’s face (“Heads”), and the other side will feature a six-legged turducken (“Tails”), in honor of Madden’s favorite Thanksgiving dish.

“Here’s my turducken,” he once said. “It’s turkey — you got the turkey on the outside. Then you stuff the turkey with the duck, then you stuff the duck with the chicken. ‘Tur’ for turkey. ‘Duck’ for duck. And ‘-en’ for chicken. Then you just mix it all up. I’ve been eating it all day.”

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AFP

Madden created many Thanksgiving traditions

There are few NFL figures who loved Thanskgiving more than John Madden.

“There’s no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game,” Madden said in 1997 during the Bears-Lions Thanksgiving game.

“There are just certain things that go together: the turkey, the family, the tradition, football. … And we have it all today.”

The iconic figure was also responsible for creating many Thanksgiving traditions over his decades covering the sport.

Perhaps his most famous included the Turkey Leg Award, handed out to the MVP of the Thanksgiving game.

Madden started the tradition in 1989 when he handed it to Philadelphia’s Reggie White following a win over the Cowboys.

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