The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Lincoln Financial Field in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia. Since their formation, the Eagles have appeared in the playoffs 29 times, won 16 division titles (including 12 in the NFC East), appeared in four pre-merger NFL Championship Games, winning three of them (1948, 1949, and 1960), and appeared in four Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl LII at the end of the 2017 season. As of 2023, 13 individuals affiliated with the Eagles have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Chuck Bednarik, Bell, Bob Brown, Harold Carmichael, Brian Dawkins, Sonny Jurgensen, Greasy Neale, Tommy McDonald, Pete Pihos, Norm Van Brocklin, Steve Van Buren, Dick Vermeil, and Reggie White. The team's intense rivalry with the New York Giants has been ranked the top rivalry of all time by NFL Network, the fourth-best NFL rivalry by Sports Illustrated, and one of the fiercest and best-known football rivalries by ESPN. The Eagles' bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys has become more high-profile and intense since the 1960s, and the team has a historic rivalry with the Washington Commanders. Their rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers dates back to 1933 and is known as the "Battle of Pennsylvania". The Philadelphia Eagles rank among the best teams in the NFL for attendance and have sold out every home game continuously since the 1999 season. The Eagles are owned by Jeffrey Lurie, who bought the team from previous owner Norman Braman for $195 million on May 6, 1994. As of 2023, the Eagles franchise value has increased to $4.9 billion, according to Forbes, making them the 10th-most valuable team in the NFL.
The 2023 NFL season is the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City falling to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and is scheduled to end on January 7, 2024.
The playoffs are then scheduled to start on January 13, and conclude with Super Bowl LVIII, the league's championship game, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 11.
Players who have been named a team captain typically have a "C" patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast (depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team). The number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team. If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. Some teams (i.e. Baltimore and New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. The New York Jets have not designated team captains since an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the 4th quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in 3 years. His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned. During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color; e.g., pink for breast cancer awareness; or camouflage for military service recognition.
Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as Offensive Captain.
