NFL fans have seen various helmet designs over the league's history. The sport has come a long way from the "leatherhead" days, especially from a player safety standpoint.
From single-bar facemasks to different helmet shapes, the NFL has consistently tweaked its headgear over the years to try to improve player safety. It has also focused on making the helmet a decorative adornment that sports different versions of the team logos.
But beginning in 2024, NFL helmets may look a bit different. It isn't just because the NFL has several different helmet types available by position, either.
IYER: Ranking the best new players eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025
It's because the league is allowing its players to wear Guardian Caps during games if they so desire.
Guardian Caps have become a key part of NFL training camps and practices in recent seasons. They were first implemented by the league as an experiment to see whether they would cut down head injuries amid the league's concussion crisis.
They have worked brilliantly in practice, so players who wish to protect themselves are now allowed to wear the helmet covers in games.
What exactly are Guardian Caps, and how will the NFL's rules surrounding them work? Here's what to know about the product, and how it will improve the league's player safety moving forward.
MORE: How onside kicks, touchbacks, more will be different under the NFL's new kickoff rules
What are Guardian Caps?
Guardian Caps are "a soft-shell helmet cover engineered for impact reduction," according to the product's official website.
The caps were created in 2010 to advance the protection provided by the NFL helmet. It was founded on scientific theories stating that having a "soft" material on the outside of the cap would reduce the severity of impact on certain hits, as the company explained.
Physics say that an outer 'soft' material of the proper density, stiffness and energy absorbing properties reduces the initial severity of the impact. The hard shell then has lower forces transmitted to it, and in turn conveys lower forces to the interior soft helmet padding and then lower forces to the head. Very similar to a NASCAR driver and the soft wall technology that tracks have adopted or even automobiles and the soft bumpers and airbags that are now required. The Guardian Cap serves the same purpose for an athlete’s head—a soft shell barrier between it and impact.
The product was tested at colleges such as Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and Stanford with success, and Guardian Sports eventually partnered with the NFL in an attempt to reduce concussions.
The results? There was a "statistically significant" difference in injury rate from players wearing just helmets compared to those also wearing Guardian Caps. That's why the NFL has afforded expanded usage of the helmet covering ahead of the 2024 NFL season, just the fifth season that the caps are being worn in the league.
MORE: More to know about Guardian Caps
NFL Guardian Cap rules, explained
The NFL required certain position groups to wear Guardian Caps in practice beginning in 2022. They also allowed players to wear them during preseason games, though few took advantage of those opportunities.
Now, NFL players have the option to wear Guardian Caps during games — if they so desire. The league has 12 helmets available for players to use but those who wish to wear Guardian Caps will be able to do so. The NFL will ensure that these caps display a team logo while on the field in the same way a helmet would.
Why did the NFL make this change? Guardian Caps contributed to "a nearly 50% reduction in concussions" since their implementation in team drills, as NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller detailed in a statement in April.
"We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice, so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season," Miller said. "Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players."
The NFL is always trying to improve player safety, and that's one of the reasons the league is adopting a new kickoff rule in 2024. Thus, it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the league leaning into the usage of Guardian Caps as a potential method to curtail concussions.
