NFL launches challenge to improve facemasks and reduce concussions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The NFL is challenging innovators to improve the facemask on football helmets to reduce concussions in the game.

The league announced on Friday at an innovation summit for the Super Bowl the next round in the HealthTECH Challenge series, a crowdsourced competition designed to accelerate the development of cutting-edge football helmets and new standards for player safety.

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The challenge invites inventors, engineers, startups, academic teams and established companies to improve the impact protection and design of football helmets through improvements to how facemasks absorb and reduce the effects of contact on the field.

Most progress on helmet safety has come from improvements to the shell and padding, helping to reduce the overall rate of concussions. But this past season, 44% of in-game concussions resulted from impact to the player’s facemask, up from 29% in 2015, according to data gathered by the NFL.

“The rapid rate of innovation in helmet technology reflects how research and data can directly improve the level of safety across football,” said Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president overseeing player health and safety. “These challenges have raised the standard of equipment to help reduce concussions and mitigate the effects of head impacts. Recent efforts to improve shell impact technology have been incredibly fruitful, and now we look forward to evaluating this next wave of creative solutions to facemasks and other helmet components with the goal of further reducing injury.”

Selected winners will receive up to $100,000 in aggregate funding, as well as expert development support to help move their concepts from the lab to the playing field.