NFL players select their own helmet from a selection of helmets each season based on how well they perform in terms of safety. Players now have more and safer helmet options because to the league’s ongoing efforts to promote innovation in helmet safety. Better-performing helmets have helped to keep concussions down by 25% over the past four seasons. The fewest concussions have ever occurred during the previous season.
Building A Better Game: How NFL players benefit from personalized helmets
In order to gather data and determine which helmet models best lessen the severity of impact, biomechanical engineers examine a variety of helmet models in-depth each year on behalf of the NFL and NFLPA. Since the annual testing procedure began in 2015, the rate of advancement of helmet models has increased nine times quicker.
There are now more than 20 top-performing helmet options from which players can select, with five of the six new models that were evaluated this year placing in the ‘top-performing’ group. Additionally, 99% of players are donning top-performing helmets for the third consecutive season. For the 2022 season, nearly 200 players switched to helmets that performed even better than those they wore the previous year. Online sportsbooks have noticed a sustained reduction in concussion injuries, allowing them to issue more stabilized betting odds.
The League continues to develop innovative helmet technology. The NFL funds engineers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers to create new and better-performing helmet models in an effort to make players’ protective gear safer. One such initiative is the NFL Helmet initiative. To further promote helmet safety and innovation, the NFL is also encouraging the creation of position-specific helmets and advancements in helmets customized through technologies like 3D printing.
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