<P> In the National Football League, the team captain designation is a team - appointed position that designates certain players as leaders on and off the field . The captains program was implemented by the NFL Player Advisory Council established by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in conjunction with the NFL Players Association . Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains . </P> <P> 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 a team . If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold . Some teams (e.g. Pittsburgh and New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains . In the case of the Green Bay Packers, they would use weekly captains during the regular season, but would switch to assigning captains whenever they qualify for the playoffs . </P> <P> The New York Jets suspended designated team captains after an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game . In the fourth 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 three years . His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned . In 2015, under new head coach Todd Bowles, the Jets resumed appointing captains weekly . In 2018, Coach Todd Bowles has resumed permanent captains . These captains were introduced in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season </P>

What does the c mean in the nfl