The Business Case for a Lighter Football Helmet

As fears over CTE grow, helmet makers are rethinking how much protection is too much. One startup says lighter could actually be safer.

The future of American football may hinge on one question: How do we properly protect a player’s brain? 

That question sits at the center of a growing debate inside the football equipment industry, where companies are racing to design safer helmets that reduce the risk of brain injuries, particularly CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. A 2023 Boston University study examining the brains of 376 former NFL players found signs of CTE in more than 90 percent of them. These numbers, along with high-profile deaths related to CTE, have intensified pressure on the NFL and its suppliers to act. 

One company pushing an innovative approach is Light Helmets, a small startup based in Carlsbad, California. Its core argument is that a lighter helmet is a safer helmet because heavier helmets may actually worsen the force of impacts during collisions. According to CEO Nick Esayian, even modest increases in helmet weight can amplify the forces transferred to a player’s head and neck over time. Light’s solution is straightforward: reduce helmet weight while still meeting safety and performance standards, with different models tailored to youth, amateur, and professional players.  

The idea has drawn support from current and former NFL players, but it’s far from the industry consensus. Larger helmet manufacturers argue that additional mass can help absorb impact energy, and the NFL itself does not impose weight limits, focusing instead on lab performance and on-field data. One widely adopted option is the Guardian Cap, a padded shell worn over helmets, mostly in practices, that the league says has significantly reduced concussions, though some players complain it feels bulky and uncomfortable. 

Independent researchers remain cautious. At the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab, which tests and rates helmets used in multiple sports, experts say lighter helmets may benefit younger athletes, but the advantages for professional players are less clear. 

The NFL commissions its own safety tests each year, and releases rankings of which helmets best reduce head impact severity. Light Helmets ranked in the top five for each position-specific ranking, and its Gladiator Thunder helmet was ranked the sixth-safest in the overall category by the NFL.  

Meanwhile, the helmet market remains highly consolidated. Riddell, long the NFL’s dominant supplier, maintains that its market share reflects performance rather than limited competition, even as critics argue consolidation has slowed innovation. 

The debate continues as the NFL reports declining concussion numbers and introduces new top-performing helmets for future seasons. For Light, the hope is that evolving science, and player demand, will eventually make lighter helmets part of football’s future. 

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