New England Patriots 2019 NFL Draft hat revealed

For the 2019 NFL Draft, league partner New Era created a hat for New England Patriots draftees that incorporates elements of the Massachusetts state flag.

In the 2018 NFL Draft, cap provider New Era gave each of the 32 franchises a draft hat that featured a unique mantra or slogan popularly associated with their identity. For the New England Patriots, that wordmark was “DO YOUR JOB,” a well-known catchphrase of head coach Bill Belichick that has filtered down through his player personnel base and often gets linked to The Patriot Way mythology.

This year, New Era announced that the “theme” for 2019 NFL Draft hats is state and city flags. The clothing company retailer has incorporated various elements from these flags in the corresponding hats of the franchises that call those places home.

For the Patriots, the cap bears the scripts “Foxborough” and “Massachusetts, 1971,” representing the year the franchise no longer called themselves the “Boston Patriots” or the “Bay State Patriots,” but the “New England Patriots.” 1971 was also the year the team relocated to Foxboro Stadium, which would house the franchise for three decades until it moved once again, this time to Gillette Stadium in 2001.

For the Patriots, the most recognizable aspect of the hat is the use of the two bending branches on either side of the logo, taken directly from the city flag of Foxborough.

Some NFL teams have design elements from their state flags worked into the hats, including the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and Minnesota Vikings, to name a few. Other NFL teams have elements from their city flags worked in, like the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and the New England Patriots themselves.

Notably, the Carolina Panthers hat involves elements from the state flags of both North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Oakland Raiders hat is also unique because it features elements from the United States of America national flag, rather than the cities of Oakland or Las Vegas, or the states of California or Nevada. The Raiders are of course in the midst of a lengthy relocation process between the two places with an as-yet-to-be-determined final date for when the move will be finalized.