The Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Elks are looking to the past to embrace their future with the team’s first third jersey in 10 years.
The new jersey was unveiled on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, during an event that was part of the Elks’ Kickoff to 75 festivities. They’ll wear them for the first time during their 2024 CFL regular season home opener on Saturday, June 8 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The jerseys are predominantly green, with a tonal triangle pattern on the shoulders and sleeves. This pattern “represents the sprawling evergreen forests of Northern Alberta and Canada’s largest urban park — the [North Saskatchewan] River valley.” Gold stripes run over each shoulder, harkening back to the jerseys the team wore in the 1950s and ´60s.
The sleeves also feature a new logo that’s based on the team’s first logo from 1949. It features a shield with a ribbon reading “EDMONTON ELKS FOOTBALL” running across the middle. Above the ribbon is an oil derrick “depicting the historic Leduc No. 1 site, which triggered Alberta’s oil boom.” Below the ribbon is the team’s double-E logo and a pair of antlers.
Whether it was 1949 or now in 2024, Edmonton has and always will be the most important part of our identity. This is an updated version of the original type used. All decades of EE football are captured, as the antlers surround our iconic EE logo.
— GoElks.ca
Above the front number, “EDMONTON” is spelled out across the chest — apparently only the second time the team has put their home city’s name on their uniform. The numbers on the front and back are green with gold outlines, and are set in a narrower block font reminiscent of what they wore from 1996 to 2020. Names on the back are also green with gold outlines.
According to the Elks, the process of developing the new alternate jerseys took two years, “with the goal of developing a modern classic that fans new and old could celebrate the next chapter of Green and Gold football in.”
“With this season being our Club’s 75th, we wanted to give fans a design that drew on our rich tradition, but wasn’t afraid to bring something fresh to our on-field look,” said Elks vice president of marketing and fan engagement Evan Daum. “There’s a great deal of pride in what our Club has meant to Edmonton and Northern Alberta since 1949. This jersey represents the icons who came before us, and the bright future pro football has in our community.”
For Saturday’s game, the alternate jerseys will be paired with helmets bearing the Elks’ 75th anniversary logo. The helmet decals will have the names of 90 fans will be printed in the outlines of the shield. Fans who bought a spot on the decal also received a framed set of game decals (75th logo, Canadian flag, CFL logo) and an autograph from an Elks player.
In addition to the home opener, the Elks plan to wear the alternate jerseys two more times during the 2024 season, but specific games were not announced on Wednesday.
