A Big congratulations to McLeod Bethel -Thompson who today end ends his contract with Edmonton Elks why signing a new contract with�

Dubbed the “Icon Jersey,” the third option is meant to bridge the past with the present while drawing on elements from the team’s rich history.

“There’s a great deal of pride in what our club has meant to Edmonton and northern Alberta since 1949,” said Evan Daum, Elks vice president of marketing and fan engagement.

“This jersey represents the icons who came before us, and the bright future pro football has in our community.”

The jersey, which is a result of nearly two years of work, includes a logo that mirrors the football club’s original logo. It features an oil derrick — a nod to the past that represents the historic Leduc No. 1 site that triggered Alberta’s first oil boom.

“I think it’s great,” new Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson said of the new jersey as it was unveiled Wednesday night.

“I’m just happy to be here. I think Edmonton is a football town and we’re excited to bring back the legacy that is this great team.”

The shoulder pattern is meant to represent the “sprawling evergreen forests of northern Alberta and Canada’s largest urban park — the river valley,” according to the team.The Edmonton Elks will debut the new jersey at Saturday’s home opener against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium.

It’s green and gold, of course — the Elks’ colours since the beginning in 1949, when the club borrowed uniforms from the University of Alberta and subsequently adopted them — with green as the primary hue. Double stripes of gold adorn the shoulders and line the sides of the pants, with dark green player numbers edged in gold.

The gold helmet sports the Elks’ 75th-anniversary logo, which was introduced earlier this year.

The Elks host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday (2 p.m.) to open their 2024 CFL regular-season schedule.

Evan Daum, the Elks’ vice-president of marketing and fan engagement, told media two years of work went into the design of the jersey “in terms of the symbolism behind it.”

The shoulder stripes and an updated throwback logo on both sleeves — featuring an oil derrick, Elks antlers and an ‘EE’ logo — echo the look of teams from the 1950s and ’60s while a triangular tree pattern on its shoulders and sleeves is a nod to Edmonton’s river valley and Alberta’s forested regions.

“We wanted the jersey to speak to our rich tradition but also modernize things and give our fans a fresh look,” Daum said at an event at the downtown Canadian Icehouse unveiling the uniform, which was modelled by new quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and linebacker Nyles Morgan.