How a 12-Ounce Foam Layer Changed the NFL
At the end of his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers, on September 15, Indianapolis Colts Tight End Kylen Granson received a short ball over the middle field, charged forward and lowered his shoulders to prepare for contact. Granson tossed the football to an official after the 9-yard gain and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap. After the 9-yard catch, Granson rose to his feet and threw the ball to an official. This otherwise normal play was notable only because Granson was wearing a 12-ounce foam-padded protective helmet called a “Guardian Cap”. A league spokesperson said that only 10 NFL players have worn one during the six weeks of play this fall. “I was pleasantly shocked that it did not affect me,” said the 26-year old a few weeks before facing the Packers during week two. I thought it was worth it, even though it looked silly. Guardian Sports, the company that makes the product, has even created staff t-shirts with the slogan LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, PLAY GREEN, but without LOOK GET GOOD. Erin Hanson and her husband Lee Hanson are cofounders of Guardian Sports. “Condom cap, mushroom head–we have heard it all,” Erin Hanson says. We just laugh because we agree.”
It’s hard to reconcile the fact that football headgear looks like something from a sci-fi film of the 1960s. The fact that Guardian Caps have been allowed in NFL games – a league notorious for scrutinizing every piece of equipment used by players to protect their image – doesn’t only speak to the lab-tested benefits (even though published peer-reviewed data on the field is still lacking). The dangers of wearing a helmet are more apparent than ever, especially with the growing awareness of chronic traumatic brain disorders like dementia and depression. The NFL funding private research and the rapidly evolving football headgear market have made the race for answers faster and more profitable than ever.
