As the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers face off in Sunday’s Super Bowl, two Illinois manufacturers are ratcheting up their battle for helmet supremacy.
Chicago-based Riddell, the leader among NFL teams, recently introduced the Riddell Revolution, an elongated helmet that covers more of the side of the face (it says blows to the lower part of the head often cause concussions).
Meanwhile, Schutt Sports of Litchfield has countered with its DNA model, which uses a special material called Skydex that is used by the military to soften landings for paratroopers and planes.
Most of the helmets on the field in Houston will be Riddell; Schutt is stronger in the college market. Thad Ide, vice president of research and development for Riddell, says 40 percent of the players on the Panthers wear the Revolution helmet.
The company found that large impacts to the side of the head and the side of the face cause concussions. “Traditional football helmets don’t offer much in the way of energy attenuation in [that] area.”
What Ide and his team did was to extend the helmet into the jaw area, sweeping the shell of the helmet forward as well to cover more of the side of the face. While the Revolution has been on the market for a year, Schutt’s DNA model is brand new; it was officially unveiled a couple of months ago at the Army-Navy football game. Like the Panthers, Schutt is an underdog, but Schutt president Julie Nimmons is confident the DNA will make some serious inroads into Riddell’s market share.
Riddell’s Ide won’t be intimidated.
“I’ll put my money on us,” he said confidently. “I think we make the best helmet. We evaluated Skydex and chose a different course.”
Unlike Sunday’s game, this tussle may go on for years.
