Pat Surtain II among select few to wear special jersey patch for 2025 season

Pat Surtain II cemented himself in the NFL record books in 2024 with his dominant play all season long that resulted in him receiving the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He joined rare air as he became just the seventh cornerback in the history of the league to win the award (dating back to 1971).

To honor the great season he put forth last year, Surtain will have a special patch on his jersey for the Broncos this season. There are only five players in the league who get to wear this patch, the five winners of the major individual AP awards from the season prior.

NEW this NFL season:
FIVE players this season will wear a special gold patch on their jersey.

Pat Surtain is one of those five.

The 5 are the big award winners from last season:

MVP Josh Allen
OPOY Saquon Barkley
DPOY Pat Surtain II
OROY Jayden Daniels
DROY Jared Verse pic.twitter.com/lW0cFo1wg8

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) September 2, 2025

It seems like the patch will be placed right under the collar in the middle of the jersey. For Surtain, it will be another fear factor for receivers lining up across from him and a reminder that getting open against the 25-year-old is not a simple task by any means.

Surtain is heading into his fifth year in the NFL with the Broncos after improving in each of his first four seasons in the Mile High City. While the stat sheet might not reflect it, as he had a career-low in total tackles last season, the tape does. Cornerbacks can’t be judged on the stats alone, because a guy who is on the field as much as Surtain and doesn’t put up out-of-this-world stats shows that he doesn’t get much action from opposing offenses. His 45 tackles were by far a career-low, but his four interceptions were tied for a career-best.

He never allowed more than 50 yards in a game last season either. It didn’t matter who was lined up opposite of them, Surtain consistently shut down the opponents to earn the league’s most prestigious defensive award and this gold patch to rep this season.

Broncos fans will get their first look at Surtain rocking the patch when he takes the field against the Titans at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday. Fans who aren’t at the stadium can watch on FOX in the late window, but only if they’re in the right area of the country. NFL fans will get to see it in the season opener on Thursday night when Saquon Barkley takes the field for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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