NFL Varsity Jackets

Football season is a marathon. It starts in a heatwave in late-August, it races on through the crisp October nights, and it finishes in a deep freeze in a January playoff game. This six month long event is precisely why we have NFL varsity jackets. These are the jackets that will see you through from opening day to the final whistle of the season. This collection has all of our football inspired varsity and letterman jackets in one easy to navigate place. Browse by color, stay informed on what you are purchasing, and invest in a jacket that will last longer than the season itself.

Why the Varsity Silhouette Fits Football Best

Built for a season that spans four seasons

A football jacket has a more difficult task than most team outerwear. September games require something breathable over a t-shirt, while December football needs actual insulation over a hoodie. The varsity silhouette meets both challenges with the kind of construction that calls for wool, or a wool blend, to insulate, contrast sleeves, and rib knit collar, cuffs, and hems to keep out stadium wind. Full-snap fronts are just as important. Snap to the top for a playoff night in the upper deck, leave a few open and roll back the sleeves for a tailgate in the sun. No other NFL jacket style transitions through an entire season like this one.

Satin for early season, wool for the playoffs

If you buy at the beginning of the season, a satin-body NFL jacket is the best option: it is light, silky, and very comfortable in a 60-degree room. If you are shopping for the cold months, look for the slightly heavier body of wool blend and a quilted lining. Many fans have both jackets in their closet, switching from one to the other as frequently as the team does with its backup QB. Our product pages will describe the breakdown of materials used in each design, as well as the type of lining, so you can ensure you select the jacket that will match the time of year you expect to wear it.

What “NFL Starter Jacket” Really Means

The phrase NFL starter jacket takes on two meanings, and it’s worth knowing the difference before you order. Once upon a time, Starter was the sportswear company that made satin snap-front team jackets a cultural icon in the ’80s and ’90s–and a whole generation of fans still remembers the style: bold satin bodies, striped rib-knit collars, and prominent team crests. These vintage starter NFL jackets are collectibles today, which is why the term stuck.  

The second is the generic: When fans say NFL starter jackets, they often mean any satin- or wool full-snap team jacket in this style. Our collection draws from that tradition. Some are inspired by vintage styles, all utilize the snap front, contrast rib-knit trim and large crest that made original starter jackets NFL a standard issue for decades.

How to Choose Your NFL Jacket

Match the jacket to your stadium climate

Outdoor football is different in Green Bay than it is in Miami, and your jacket should reflect that. For cold weather stadiums, go with a wool-blend body and a quilted lining, and make sure it covers all the way down with rib-knit. For domes and the south, a satin jacket with a lighter lining will see more wear. And if you’re sitting outside one day and on the couch the next, get something in between.

Get the fit right for layering

An NFL jacket will layer nicely over a hoodie without digging into the shoulders. If you’re the kind of person who wears everything under it (heavy winter wear), then go up a size; if it’s mainly going out to see the light of day in September through November over a t-shirt, stick to your size. The site has a size chart for each product, and the safest way to make sure you get the correct size is to compare the measurements listed to a jacket you already have.

Pick a colorway you can wear beyond game day

The right football jacket for you is the one you will wear on Mondays as well. Classic team colors in deeper shades are easier to dress up with denim, chinos, and in neutral layers. If your closet is largely dark, a black sleeve jacket is going to see more wear than a white-body design. Think about your weekly rotation, and not only what you plan on wearing on Sunday.

Shop NFL Varsity Jackets by Team

Our NFL lineup is organized by franchise so you can go straight to your colors. Some of the most-shopped teams include our 

• San Francisco 49ers Jackets collection
• the Dallas Cowboys Jackets collection
• the Las Vegas Raiders Jackets collection

With more franchises added as new designs arrive in. Looking for something based on the Silhouette first? Our men’s varsity jackets collection and women’s collection offer classic color options that go with any team scarf, beanie, or jersey. Each NFL jacket page will note materials, linings, and sizing so you can shop with confidence, and every design is photographed in detail so that you can see the crests, snaps, and stitching before it ships.

The Tailgate Test: What a Football Jacket Goes Through

A football jacket endures more than most garments, and the design reflects that. It slouched over three-hour tailgates, folded over stadium railings, wedged through turnstile crowds and shed a dozen times as the temperature ebb and flow between sun and shade. Snap fronts were created for such occasions: Open them, and you can peel off your layered look without exposing your innermost gear; snap them the moment the wind picks up and you’re instantly prepared to brave the elements. Rib-knit trims take the stretching and re-snapping without losing shape like a woven hem would. When you’re comparing designs, imagine those game days instead of the product shot: a jacket made for the whole routine from snaps to trims to the lining is the one that makes a season’s worth of Sundays look sharp on the parking lot come January.

NFL Varsity Jacket FAQs

What is the difference between an NFL varsity jacket and an NFL starter jacket?

Varsity is the silhouette with the wool or wool-blend body, contrast sleeves, snap front, and rib-knit trims. Starter jacket is the brand of choice which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s for the satin version of our silhouette. Now many people tend to call these two terms interchangeably, and our collection includes both satin jackets and wool ones, which symbolize those times.

Are satin or wool NFL jackets better?

They solve different problems. Satin is lighter and plays better in early season, indoor games while wool-blend bodies with quilted linings keep warm in late season, cold climate football. Check the fabric content on each product page and compare it to your stadium’s weather.

How do I clean a football jacket?

Spot clean with a slightly damp cloth, and let it air dry. Satin and polyester bodies tend to be a little more forgiving when it comes to cleaning, than wool, however, for wool bodies with leather or vinyl sleeves it’s advisable to dry-clean only. Always follow the care instructions given on the product page for your chosen design.

Which NFL jacket makes a good gift?

A varsity jacket in the recipient’s team colors is one of the safest fan gifts there is, because the silhouette flatters all ages. When in doubt, go with a mid-weight version in the team’s primary colors, rather than a bolder alternate, and make sure to get the right size by asking the person to try it on in a jacket they already own.