Safety vs. swag: Why Guardian Caps aren’t an unmitigated victory in the NFL yet

Fall brings football season to the US and, with it, a display of uniquely decorated hats 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 ones we’re used to seeing today.

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

The retreat has begun. Some players have complained that the machines are out of control. And both fans and players are delighted that the blocky accessory makes players’ heads appear disproportionately large.

Because I’m working on the history of football hat culture, I’m eager to see what happens.

In a multi-billion dollar sport where the helmet is the primary selling point and symbol of the game, what happens when the importance of player safety conflicts with its appearance?

We are about to find you.

From the training ground to the playing field

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

After the caps were introduced in 2010, some colleges and professional teams gradually adopted them during practice. In 2022, the NFL began requiring its use in preseason practices. At first, only linemen and linebackers were required to wear them. In 2024, the league mandated that all players except quarterbacks and kickers wear them during practice. In April 2024, the league announced that players could wear them in 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 reduced the force of head collisions by 20% when the players involved wore the device, and 10% when one of the players wore it.

Some scholars have expressed skepticism about the NFL’s closely held survey data. Still, the league says there has been an impressive 52 percent drop in reported concussions during preseason practices since the devices were approved.

Touting the safety benefits of Guardian Caps is a clear public relations win for the NFL. Ongoing research into post-traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and other traumatic brain injuries continues to show how much damage can be caused by repeated blows to the head, with football players especially at risk.

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

The players deny it

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

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

“I hate them,” Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jarran Reed told the Seattle Times. “I understand their safety, but I’ve been playing for a long time. It looks like I’m just going crazy. I don’t like them. I’m ready to undress.”

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

Obviously, in such a fast and violent game, very small margins – both physical and mental – can make a difference in performance. And players like Reed, Slay and at least a dozen others don’t seem willing to sacrifice their ability to maximize field performance for incremental safety gains.

However important the objections of such players are to the feel and look of Guardian Caps may not be the most important issue facing the NFL in their adoption.

Brand cleaning

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

But why should fan reactions matter? After all, they are not the ones who risk their lives.

Furthermore, in the first 75 years of football history, most helmets were nondescript. According to football historian Timothy P. Brown, early helmets were made of plain leather “in various shades of brown or black, so they all looked pretty much the same, as did team uniforms.” It wasn’t until the 1940s and 1950s, when Riddell’s first plastic models became popular, that the helmet’s potential as a decorative fabric became apparent.

Yet much of the NFL’s success is based on its appeal.

In the early 1960s, then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle noted that television, not ticket sales, would be the driving force in football’s future financial success. Helmet branding was an important way to promote and celebrate NFL team identity. For TV viewers, hat logos will become brighter and more colorful as broadcast technology improves.

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

The negative impact of Guardian Caps on the appearance of the game, and the importance of that to the continued popularity of the game, has not been seen.

“Football is a highly visual game,” writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “It thrives because of the way it looks on TV.”

“With shiny helmets covered in tough clothing that looks like soundproof panels, the vibe 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 promoted the use of six new protective models that are said to provide similar protection to those with the Guardian Cap attached.

These models don’t look exactly like regular helmets, either. But they don’t look like Guardian Caps, and that can make a difference.

Noah Cohan is assistant director of studies in American culture, arts and sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

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