Expansion and Improved Performance of Position-Specific Helmets Marks Significant Leap in Providing Players with Best Protection for Their Position
Record 12 New Models Eligible for 2024 Season, Reflecting Accelerated Pace of Helmet Innovation
NEW YORK — April 9, 2024 — The NFL and NFLPA announced today the introduction of five new helmets for the 2024 season that tested better than any helmet ever worn in the league, reflecting a significant advancement in helmet safety innovation. In total, a record 12 new helmet models are eligible for players to wear for the 2024 season.
This year, there will also be more position-specific helmets available to players than ever before, with eight new position-specific models introduced this season. These helmets are designed to mitigate impacts more likely to be sustained by individual positions. The designs of position-specific and all helmet models are informed in part by game impact data that the league collects and shares with helmet manufacturers.
After first becoming available to offensive and defensive linemen in 2022 and quarterbacks in 2023, 2024 will be the third season that position-specific helmets are available for certain positions.
“We’re proud to see so many new helmets continue the rapid rate of improvement we’ve seen over the past decade,” said Jeff Miller, NFL Executive Vice President overseeing Player Health and Safety. “What’s more, the growing availability of position-specific helmets is a central part of our effort to provide players with the best possible protection for their position. Quarterbacks and linemen will have a range of tailored helmets available to them with more positions to come in the next couple of years.”
The NFL, in collaboration with the NFLPA, annually conducts laboratory testing performed by jointly appointed biomechanical experts to evaluate which helmets best reduce head impact severity. Top-performing helmets were also evaluated using position-specific test methodologies for quarterbacks, offensive linemen and defensive linemen. These tests recreate the unique impacts players at each position tend to experience on the field.
The results of the tests are on display in all club locker rooms. This year, for the first time, there are four total helmet posters in circulation: one for helmets available for use by players at all positions, and three additional posters that reflect helmet performance in testing specific to quarterbacks, offensive linemen, and defensive linemen.
In total, six helmets were newly prohibited for the 2024 season. Each of these helmets ranked among the top-performing group when first introduced, which is a testament to how helmet performance has increased through the introduction of new, better performing helmets.
This year’s helmet poster features two new models – the LIGHT Gladiator (ATK) and Xenith Orbit Pro – developed by awardees of the NFL Helmet Challenge, a $3 million competition designed to accelerate helmet performance and safety for NFL players. Their inclusion in the highest-performing section of this year’s rankings reflects the league’s commitment to working with a wide range of engineers and material scientists to generate new, highly effective approaches to helmet design.
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