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In the latest episode of “Most Interesting Jobs,” NFL Legend Steve Smith Sr. paid a visit to the Los Angeles Rams’ equipment team to learn about the safer helmet options available to players today, the NFL-NFLPA annual testing process and rankings, and how equipment managers work with players to select and customize their helmets.
Every preseason, NFL players go through the important process of picking out their helmets, and club equipment managers play a critical role in helping players understand their options and encouraging them to choose the best-performing model that suits their needs, considering safety, comfort, fit and style, among other factors. This process is critical to widespread adoption of better-performing helmets that are proven to provide better protection for players.
In the episode, Smith learned everything about helmet safety and innovation:
Every year, NFL and NFLPA engineers lab test helmets worn by NFL players to determine which models provide the best protection.
Players in top-performing helmets had a substantially lower rate of concussions than players wearing lesser-performing helmets.
Nearly all top-performing helmets for 2025 have an element of fit customization.
In 2024, more than 70% of player chose to wear custom fit helmets, which they were scanned and fitted for.
Guardian Caps have driven a significant reduction in concussions in practices – approximately 50 percent over the past two preseasons.
Ten helmets are exempt from wearing the Guardian Cap during mandated periods, each of which provide as much – and in some cases more – protection than poorer-performing helmets paired with a Guardian Cap.
Learn more about the NFL-NFLPA helmet testing process and this year’s top-performing models.
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