Retired NFL players assisted in the development of Guardian Caps

TL;DR

Retired NFL players, including Tim Lester and Jerome Bettis, collaborated on the development of Guardian Caps to enhance football helmet safety. The Guardian Cap is an add-on cover designed to fit any existing helmet, aimed at improving player protection during games.

This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with Guardian Sports Chief Operating Officer Jake Hanson.

In his interview with Easton Jr., Hanson discussed Guardian Sports' ongoing innovations to improve player safety. He revealed the early phases of the Guardian Caps developed by his parents and NFL legends.

"My parents, being the problem-solvers that they are, decided, 'Yeah, we can make this happen and they made it. It was called the Gladiator helmet, but in 2010, it was just too much change, too fast," said Hanson, "At that same time, I was starting to play high school football, and we were working with a lot of former pro athletes, including Tim Lester, Jerome Bettis, and Mark Kelso, athletes from NFL times past. They said, "We've got too much skin in the game here; we need to do something about this." So rather than recreate an entirely new football helmet, they decided, "What if we made a one-size-fits-all add-on cover that could augment any existing football helmet?" That's how the Guardian Cap was born."

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman and CBS Sports analyst Kyle Long recently expressed his approval of the Guardian Caps as more players adopt them each year.

"I think people see the Guardian Cap now and consider us an overnight success. But, quite honestly, it was a lot of legwork to make. It was a lot of showing up to conferences and talking to coaches and trying to convince people that, hey, reducing those repetitive blows over time does make a difference," said Hanson, "So in 2012, we were at the University of South Carolina, the year they had Jadeveon Clowney and some other really great athletes, and it just grew through word of mouth from there. In 2017, we applied for and won the 'NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge', which provided us with funding from the NFL to study the product further. It was about $20,000 that went back to their program, and they started researching it and kept going. Word of mouth kept going from there."

Trusted by athletes nationwide, Guardian continues to lead in safety-driven innovation. To learn more about the Guardian Cap NXT 2.0, please visit guardiansports.com.

This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Retired NFL players assisted in the development of Guardian Caps

Q&A

What are Guardian Caps and how do they improve football safety?

Guardian Caps are add-on covers for existing football helmets designed to enhance player safety by reducing impact forces during collisions.

Which retired NFL players were involved in the development of Guardian Caps?

Retired NFL players involved in the development of Guardian Caps include Tim Lester, Jerome Bettis, and Mark Kelso.

Why was the original Gladiator helmet concept not successful?

The original Gladiator helmet concept faced challenges due to being introduced too rapidly in 2010, leading to the decision to create a more adaptable solution with the Guardian Cap.