The NFL says players suffered the fewest concussions in 2024 since the league began systematically tracking concussion data, and better helmets are a major contributor.
The league approved 12 new helmet models and found through both laboratory testing and players' on-field results that those were among the safest helmets football players have ever had available to them. The helmet models that performed worse in laboratory testing also resulted in a concussion rate 30 percent higher. Players are being advised not to wear those helmets going forward.
NFL Executive V.P. Jeff Miller, who oversees health and safety in the league office, touted the continuing improvement of helmet design as a significant success.
“It is another major step forward for player safety that the laboratory testing of the best helmets equated with lower injury rates on-field. The top-ranked helmets are performing as predicted – there is a significant decrease in concussion rates for the players wearing them,” Miller said in a statement. “Our goal is to encourage all players to move into better-performing helmets for the 2025 season.”
Miller also said the NFL's new kickoff rules led to a reduction in concussions on kickoffs that also contributed to the 2024 season seeing an overall reduction in concussions.
