Illustration by Sinelab
Welcome to the most innovative and complicated corner of the sports world. To a market that's morphing in ways both impactful and uncertain. To a space that is more focused on safety than ever before . . . and yet, insiders insist, not as safe as some might suggest. Welcome to the football helmet industry, where even the highest executives can sympathize when, say, Antonio Brown is unable to make sense of the changing landscape. Where the CEO of one company says, "I'm not aware of another industry like it." Where the NFL's vice president of health and safety policy assesses, yes, there have been gains, "but there's substantial room for improvement.