Guardian Caps, the soft padded shells covering a growing number of NFL players’ helmets, appear to be ‘a bit of a scam’ aimed more at ‘virtue signaling’ than actually preventing head trauma, according to one expert.
A former college football player and WWE wrestler who went on to found the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski is now accusing the NFL of pushing misleading research on the effectiveness of Guardian Caps, which he sees as a fig leaf in the battle against the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
As Nowinski claimed during his interview with podcaster Pablo Torre, the NFL is giving a false sense of security to young players, who predominately use a cheaper model known as the Guardian Cap XT.
Nowinski further claimed the professional-grade model known as the Guardian Cap NXT offers little benefit, if any, for NFL players, most of whom are required to wear them at all league practices. Players also have the option of wearing them in games, although only around 35 have done so thus far.
‘Much of this Guardian helmet story appears to be a bit of a scam,’ Nowinski said during an interview with podcaster Pablo Torre. ‘More padding is not the answer. We already know, your brain is Jell-O floating in fluid. Putting more padding out will help in some situations but it’s going to hurt in other situations, especially rotation. Bigger, heavier helmet, bigger radius, more rotation.’
Spokespeople for the NFL and Guardian Sports have since pushed back against Nowinski’s claims in emails to The Daily Mail by offering more context on the existing research.
A former college football player and WWE wrestler who went on to found the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski accused the NFL of failing to correct misleading research
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave is one of a growing number of NFL stars wearing the Guardian Cap NXT – a model that is sold to professionals and not youth players
One key issue is the discrepancy between the Guardian Cap XT and NXT models, according to Nowinski, who stressed his belief that the former is completely ineffective.
‘So,’ Torre asked Nowinkski, ‘the kids are getting what version of this?’
‘It’s the version the NFL rejected,’ Nowinski said.
According to Nowinski, the XT model used by amateur players offers only a 2-percent reduction in rotational acceleration, which he portrayed as inconsequential.
‘So Guardian Caps don’t work in high school,’ he said. ‘They might work in the NFL a little bit.’
But according to Guardian Sports co-founder and CEO Erin Hanson, Nowinski is mistaken about the cheaper XT model being ineffective. While Hanson readily acknowledged the difference between the two models, in a statement to The Daily Mail, she pointed to testing conducted at Virginia Tech and Stanford to argue for the XT’s efficacy.
‘According to independent testing from Virginia Tech, the XT consistently improved the helmet’s overall performance rating, and the report concludes it lowers the forces reaching the head, thereby helping to reduce risk,’ Hanson told The Daily Mail. ‘In addition Virginia Tech showcased that a heavier cap does not mean more rotation.
‘A peer-reviewed Stanford study tested the Guardian Cap XT across three helmet models, three impact speeds, and six impact locations, concluding that “a significant reduction in angular acceleration was afforded” by use of the XT,’ she continued.
‘The two models are different. The XT was built for all levels of play. When we later developed the NXT, it went first to professional players. Nothing was rejected. In fact, the XT model was the winner of the NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge in 2017.’
As for the availability of the NXT model to the public, Hanson wrote that lab testing is still being conducted to determine if it’s appropriate for youth players.
‘We have not offered it to youth,’ she said, ‘and we will not until we are confident it is the right call.’
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb runs the ball as Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre
To be clear, the product is not sold as a surefire way to prevent CTE, the brain disease blamed for a number of health issues and even suicides among former NFL and NHL players. In fact, a warning on the company website specifically states that no ‘helmet, headgear, or chinstrap can prevent or eliminate the risk of concussions or other serious head injuries.’
Still, that hasn’t stopped Guardian Sports and the NFL from touting the product as a way to reduce concussion risks. One NFL-backed study from July of 2025 can be found on the Guardian Sports website, claiming the NXT model ‘was associated with a 54-percent to 62-percent reduction in the overall incidence of NFL practice concussions across all environmental factors.’
According to Nowinski, that study was flawed.
‘When they actually tried to get that published as a peer-reviewed study and they used video, they found out it didn’t work when they isolated hits to the padding,’ Nowinski said. ‘So, it’s like a small sample random thing, they got the data they wanted, they went to the press, and then when it was studied and needed to be corrected, they did not correct it in the public.’
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy did not issue a correction when contacted by The Daily Mail. Instead, he pointed out that the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) did, indeed, publish a peer-reviewed study on Guardian Cap usage in the NFL.
Specifically, that study found ‘among players in positions subject to the NFL Guardian Cap requirement, preseason practice concussion counts decreased a statistically significant 53 percent after the imposition of the requirement.’
And while stressing that the Guardian Cap was not originally designed for concussion reduction, McCarthy noted that the league data is ‘unequivocal’ in supporting that conclusion.
‘While secondary analyses suggested other factors may have contributed to the decrease, the sample groups sizes limit our ability to draw definitive, statistically significant conclusions,’ McCarthy’s statement continued. ‘In short, the study was an observational population study reflecting our two-year experience with the Caps and it clearly showed a clear population benefit.’
Romeo Doubs #87 of the New England Patriots makes a catch against Maxwell Hairston #1 of the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter a at Highmark Stadium on October 4
There is existing research challenging the effectiveness of the Guardian Cap. One University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study from 2023 concluded, based on preliminary findings, that ‘protective soft-shell padding did not reduce head linear or rotational accelerations among a subset of college football players.’
But as McCarthy pointed out, the AJSM study ‘is the only one examining use of the model worn in the NFL at the time.’
McCarthy did not specifically respond to Nowinski’s claim that the NFL is ‘virtue signaling’ by using the Guardian Caps.
According to Nowinski, the NFL’s real goal is to have fans see players wearing Guardian Caps on the field and draw a favorable conclusion about the league’s efforts in this area.
‘It’s very clear from their behavior and the conversations I’ve had with them, they love that the public sees the Guardian Caps because it’s basically virtue signaling,’ Nowinski said.
NFL players have the option of wearing Guardian Caps in games, but outside of kickers, punters and quarterbacks, everyone is required to use the protective cover during practice
Nowinski went on to acknowledge a growing refrain among fans who point to NFL salaries as a way to dismiss concerns about CTE.
However, the former Harvard defensive tackle stressed that amateur players are also at risk of the degenerative brain disease.
‘The next conversation we have to have is: if we’re okay that the NFL players are getting it because they’re getting paid and they have informed consent, how do we let kids do it when they don’t have informed consent and they’re not getting paid?’ Nowinski asked.
CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously, which has made the disease difficult to study, particularly among younger people. However, a 2023 study on the examination of 152 brains found CTE in more than 40 percent of youth, high school and college athletes – primarily football players – all of whom were exposed to repetitive head trauma and subsequently died before age 30.
