New NFL Helmet Accessory Reduces Concussion Risk – But Are We Ready to Put Safety Over Luxury?

Fall brings college football season to the US, and with it a parade of distinctively decorated helmets worn by players.

Over time, the shape and size of these helmets have gradually changed, from the leather headgear of the early 20th century to the space-age plastic domes we are accustomed to today.

However, the visual profiles of some NFL football helmets could undergo a drastic change in 2024. The league has approved the use of padded helmet accessories known as Guardian Caps in the game, which the NFL says “can reduce the force of a head impact” by up to 20%.

The backlash has already begun, with some players complaining that the devices are unwieldy. And fans and players alike blanched at how the angular accessory makes players’ heads look disproportionately large.

Since I’m working on a cultural history of the football helmet, I’m curious to see what comes of it.

In a billion-dollar sport where the helmet is the most important part of the brand image and symbol of the game, what happens when the priority of a player’s safety conflicts with its visual appeal?

We’ll find out soon enough.

From the training ground to the sports field

Attached to the outside of the helmet using snaps and Velcro straps, Guardian Caps are made up of a series of soft, rectangular pads held together by fabric.

After the caps were introduced in 2010, some college and professional teams gradually began wearing them during practices. In 2022, the NFL began requiring them to be worn during preseason practices. Initially, only linebackers and defensive linemen were required to wear them. By 2024, the league mandated that all players except quarterbacks and kickers wear them during practices. In April 2024, the league announced that players could wear them during regular-season games at their discretion.

There seems to be good reason to encourage their use. Using data collected from all 32 teams, the league found that the devices reduce the force of impact in head-on collisions by 20% when both players are wearing them, and by 10% when one is wearing them.

Some scientists have expressed skepticism about the NFL’s closely guarded research data. Nevertheless, the league says there has been a stunning 52% drop in reported concussions during preseason training since the devices were mandated.

Touting the safety benefits of the Guardian Caps is an obvious public relations victory for the NFL. Ongoing research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and other brain injuries continues to show how much damage repeated blows to the head can do to the brain, and American football players are particularly susceptible.

Many players have come out in support of the league’s efforts to put safety first, including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jonathan Taylor, who became the first major skill player to wear the Guardian Cap during a preseason game on Aug. 11, 2024.

Players oppose

However, the story of the introduction of Guardian Caps is not an unmitigated success – at least not yet.

Even though the standard Guardian Caps weigh less than 7 ounces (0.2 kg), many gamers find them heavy and hot.

“I hate them,” Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jarran Reed told The Seattle Times. “I understand they’re safe, but I’ve been playing a long time. It just seems crazy to me. I don’t like them. I’m ready to take them off.”

“I can’t stand them. It affects my style,” Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay told CBS Sports. “My game is part of my style. If I don’t look good, I don’t feel good.”

Of course, in such a fast-paced, brutal game, the slightest differences—both physical and psychological—can make a difference in the game. And players like Reed, Slay and at least a dozen others don’t seem willing to sacrifice their ability to maximize their play on the field for the added safety benefits.

While player concerns about the look and feel of the Guardian Caps may be significant, that is not the most serious issue the NFL is facing with their adoption.

Damaging the brand

In short, many fans consider the Guardian Caps to be ugly, even if they are covered with a material that imitates the look of the logo on the plastic shell.

But why should the fans’ reaction matter? They’re not the ones risking their health.

Moreover, for the first 75 years of football history, most helmets were unmarked. According to football historian Timothy P. Brown, early helmets were made of simple leather in “various shades of brown or black, so they all looked more or less the same, as did many team uniforms.” It wasn’t until the 1940s and ’50s, when early plastic models from sports equipment manufacturer Riddell began to gain popularity, that the helmet’s potential as a decorative canvas began to be recognized.

Yet so much of the NFL’s incredible success is based on visual appeal.

In the early 1960s, then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle recognized that television, not ticket sales, would drive football’s future financial success. Helmet branding was a key way to promote and celebrate an NFL team’s identity. For television viewers, helmet logos became increasingly bold and colorful as broadcast technology improved.

Today, the logos that first appeared on helmets in the mid-20th century have become symbols of brands worth billions of dollars and with hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

The negative impact Guardian Caps had on the game’s appearance and the importance of that appearance to its continued popularity have not gone unnoticed.

“Football is an incredibly visual sport,” wrote Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “It thrives in large part because of how it looks on TV.”

“If we use smooth helmets covered with a lumpy coating resembling sound-absorbing panels, the interior climate will deteriorate,” he added.

Fortunately for Florio and others who dislike the look of the Guardian Cap, the NFL has already approved and encouraged the use of six new helmet models that supposedly provide the same protection as those with the Guardian Cap attached to them.

These models don’t look exactly like normal helmets. But they don’t look like Guardian Caps, and that can make all the difference.

Noah Cohan is associate director of American cultural studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

This article is reprinted from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.