Longtime Steelers chairman Dan Rooney died at the age of 84 in April and the team unveiled a patch that will be on all of their uniforms this season to commemorate what he meant to the organization.
The patch has Rooney’s initials “DMR” inside the three leaves of a black and gold shamrock, which combines Rooney’s devotion to the Steelers and his time as the United States ambassador to Ireland. Steelers president Art Rooney II says the patch “really called out parts of his life that were important to him.”
“It’s going to mean so much to wear it,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. “For me personally, I was really close to him. He was an excellent guy, a great person to be around. He knew everybody. He was really respected. I hope we can honor him as much as possible. It would mean a lot to all of us players and Steelers Nation.”
The Steelers also wore a jersey patch when Rooney’s father and team founder Art Rooney died in 1988 and they wore a helmet decal honoring longtime coach Chuck Noll when Noll died in 2014.