A new NFL helmet accessory reduces concussions, but players and fans may not be ready to prioritize safety over style

Fall brings football season in the U.S., and with it the parade of distinctively decorated helmets worn by players.

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

But the visual profiles of some NFL football helmets may change dramatically in 2024. The league has approved the in-game use of padded helmet accessories known as Guardian Caps, which the NFL says “can reduce the force of contact with the head” by up to 20%.

A backlash has already begun. Some players have complained that the devices are difficult to handle. And fans and players alike have turned pale at the fact that the square accessory makes players’ heads look disproportionately large.

Since I’m working on a cultural history of the football helmet, I’m eager to see what happens.

In a multi-billion dollar sport where the helmet is the branding space and quintessential symbol of the game, what happens when the imperative of player safety conflicts with its visual appeal?

We’re about to find out.

From the practice field to the playing field

Attached to the outside of players’ existing helmets using snaps and Velcro straps, Guardian Caps consist of a series of soft, rectilinear pads connected by fabric.

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

There appears to be good reason to encourage their use. Using data collected from all 32 teams, the league found that the devices reduce the impact force of head-to-head collisions by 20 percent when both players involved are wearing the device, and by 10 percent when one player is wearing it.

Some academics have expressed skepticism about the NFL’s confidential research data. However, the league says there has been a staggering 52% decrease in reported incidences of concussions during preseason practices since the use of the devices became mandatory.

Promoting the safety benefits of Guardian Caps is a clear public relations win for the NFL. Ongoing research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other traumatic brain injuries continues to show how much damage repeated blows to the head can do to the brain, with football players being especially vulnerable.

Many players have supported the league’s efforts to prioritize safety, including Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who became the first high-profile skill-position player to wear a Guardian cap during a preseason game on Aug. 11, 2024.

Players oppose

But the story of the introduction of Guardian Caps is not a resounding success story – at least not yet.

Although standard Guardian Caps weigh less than 7 ounces (0.2 kilograms), many players find them heavy and hot.

“I hate them,” Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed told the Seattle Times. “I understand that they’re safeties, but I’ve been playing so long. It’s 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 like one, I don’t feel like one.”

Obviously, in a game this fast and violent, the smallest margins — both physical and psychological — can make all the difference in performance. And players like Reed, Slay and at least a dozen others don’t seem willing to sacrifice their ability to maximize on-field performance in exchange for incremental improvements in safety.

As significant as these players’ objections to the feel and look of the Guardian Caps may be, it may not be the most significant issue facing the NFL in adopting them.

Staining the brand

Simply put, many fans think Guardian Caps are ugly, even when they’re covered in fabric that mimics the look of the logos on the underlying plastic shell.

But why should the fans’ reaction matter? After all, they are not the ones putting their health at risk.

Additionally, for the first 75 years of football history, most helmets were nondescript. According to football historian Timothy P. Brown, early helmets were constructed of smooth leather in “various shades of brown or black, so they all looked more or less alike, as did many team uniforms.” It wasn’t until the 1940s and 1950s, when early plastic models from sports equipment manufacturer Riddell began to gain popularity, that the helmet’s potential as a canvas for decoration began to be realized.

However, much of the NFL’s incredible success is based on its visual appeal.

In the early 1960s, then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle observed that television, not ticket sales, would be the driver of football’s future financial success. Helmet branding was a vital way to promote and celebrate an NFL team’s identity. For television viewers, helmet logos would become more vivid and colorful as broadcast technology improved.

Today, logos that first appeared on helmets in the mid-20th century have become icons of multi-billion dollar brands with hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

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

“Football is a highly visual sport,” wrote Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “Its success is largely due to how it is viewed on television.”

“With sleek helmets covered in lumpy layers that look like soundproofing panels, the feel will be compromised,” he added.

Fortunately for Florio and others who don’t like the look of the Guardian Cap, the NFL has already approved and encouraged the use of six new models of helmets that supposedly provide equivalent protection to those who have the Guardian Cap placed on them.

These models don’t exactly look like regular helmets either, but they don’t look like Guardian Caps either, and that could make all the difference.

Noah Cohan, deputy director of American cultural studies, Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

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