A friend brought up how the Seattle Seahawks have never worn their throwback uniforms since they gave them up in 2002. I started looking for an answer and it is true, but the answer for why was much more complicated then I thought.

It turns out the NFL changed their uniform rules to allow alternate jerseys in 2002, making them very popular with teams. There is also a rule where the uniforms have to be at least 10 years old before they can be worn as a throwback jersey. Sometimes that is confused with the rule where a uniform has to be 5 years old before you can change it.

Since the Seahawks first changed their uniforms in 2002, the first time they were eligible for throwback uniforms was in 2012. That was the year they unveiled the current design with the alternate 'Wolf Grey' that has been so popular.

In order for the Seahawks to wear their throwback uniforms, they would have to give up the grey alternate and adopt the throwback as their alternate uniform instead.

The dream of the Seahawks wearing silver helmets again was crushed last year when the NFL made a new rule where teams were prohibited,

When I found that out, I was honestly kind of sad and I hope the league will eventually change their minds.

The time to wear the throwback (to me) has to be when we play old AFC West opponents: the Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders. That happens to be this year, and we have not heard anything about a uniform change, so I think it is going to be a while.

By the way, the picture above is not the original throwback uniform because the face masks are blue, and that didn't happen until 1983.