Will Rosemont firm's helmets reduce football concussions?
Riddell President Dan Arment has an important goal as he meets with engineers and designers to address the latest plastics, sensors and other materials used to create the next-generation football helmet: To help stop concussions.
Concussions in football have become a hot-button issue, and Riddell, based in Rosemont, is creating and testing helmets meant to better protect football players. The company's latest helmet, the SpeedFlex, was worn this season by quarterback Peyton Manning, whose Denver Broncos meet the Carolina Panthers Sunday in Super Bowl 50. Quarterbacks Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears and Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins also wore the SpeedFlex.
“It's all about research and innovation,” said Arment, 55, who played football as an outside linebacker for Colgate University. “We're bringing in better technologies to help protect the players.”
The SpeedFlex, which debuted in 2014, touts a “flex panel” built into the crown that works with the face mask, liner, inflatable pads and a ratchet-style chin strap to reduce impact to the head.
The helmets also can work in conjunction with new sensor systems that attempt to measure the impact from hits on the field. The sensors are embedded into the helmets and send signals to coaches and medical personnel on the sideline about the intensity of a hit to the head.
The NFL, with support from the NFL Players Association, does not use the sensors, but about 30 college football programs use Riddell's Insite technology, including the University of Iowa and University of Arkansas. NFL officials have raised questions about the accuracy and reliability of the data. In a report by ESPN's Steve Fainaru, Dr. Robert Cantu, a football concussion expert who serves on the league's Head, Neck and Spine Committee, said the studies are too preliminary.
Although the NFL has commissioned more studies on sensor helmets, other committee members don't agree with the NFL's resistance, according to the ESPN report.
Riddell, which often takes two to three years to develop, make and test a new helmet, continues to move forward. The company expects its next new helmet to debut in 2017.
Football concussion controversy
As head injuries in football continue to create major concern from youth leagues to the NFL, the helmets and technology are seen as more important than ever. Thousands of former pro players - many with dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other brain disorders - have sued the NFL, claiming the league knew about the long-term health risks associated with head trauma. The recent movie “Concussion,” starring Will Smith, dramatized the seriousness of brain injuries. Based on a true story, the movie shows how a Pittsburgh forensic pathologist/neuropathologist discovered how playing football could lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
About 3.8 million concussions occur each year from sports and other recreation activities in all age groups, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But only 1 in 6 concussions is actually diagnosed, according to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
Concussions and other injuries that have led to lawsuits might be part of the reason the number of helmet makers has declined. There were about 20 helmet manufacturers at one time and only a few remain, including Riddell, Arment said. One of the others, Schutt Sports, also is an Illinois company, based in Litchfield. The privately held Riddell holds about 60 percent of the NFL market and more than 50 percent of the overall market for athletes of all ages worldwide, the company said.
The Rosemont company has steadily grown in recent years and posted about $225 million in revenue in 2015. While most of the revenue is earned in the United States, Riddell has markets in Europe, Australia, Japan and Mexico, Arment said. The company has been sued by former players who say the helmets didn't protect them. Arment declined to discuss litigation against the company.
In 2013, the NFL agreed to pay about $765 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in which several former players claimed their health problems were related to football concussions received on the field and that the NFL knew of the risks.
“The NFL continues to make rules changes, invest in research, implement new technology and equipment, provide education and improve medical care and training to enhance the safety of players at all levels of the game,” said NFL spokeswoman Catherine Boyle. “All of these efforts will impact not only football players, but athletes of other sports, the military and beyond.”
Riddell's football history
Riddell's relationship with football goes back to 1929 when John T. Riddell started the company after he was head football coach at Evanston High School. The company first made cleats and later made the first plastic helmets and shoulder pads.
In 2008, Arment became president of Riddell when the controversy was peaking about concussions on the football field.
”I wanted to know how we could drive innovation to an even faster pace,” Arment said.
Innovation has a hefty price tag. Football helmets cost about $180 eight years ago. The SpeedFlex is about $400 today, Arment said.
In the future, helmets will be custom-made for a player's head size and technology needs, he said. “You have to be vigorously pursuing more and listening and talking with the experts.”
Hi-tech testing of helmets
Riddell tests its helmets across a broad range of impact velocities using a linear impactor, which looks like a metal beam that slams into the helmet's side. Another machine drops the helmet to the ground.
While vigorous testing continues in creating the newest helmet, studies continue on the concussion issue.
Christopher Nowinski, co-founder and executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, says it's all about safety.
“We always encourage innovation in helmets and sports equipment to make our athletes safer,” said Nowinski, a alumni of Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. The foundation was formerly known as the Sports Legacy Institute.
When former Bears All-Pro Dave Duerson committed suicide in 2011, he had arranged for his family to donate his brain to the institute's research, which confirmed Duerson had CTE. The foundation recently confirmed another CTE case, this time involving former Giants safety Tyler Sash, who died last September at age 27.
Nowinski is impressed with the use of sensors inside the helmet to reveal whether a hit has led to a concussion. But he adds there are still a lot of variables, such as how someone gets hit, the speed and pressure of that hit and how that person handles it.
“You could hit someone one way and another person the same way, but each could come out differently, depending on their brains,” Nowinski said. “So I hope the sensors get better, but we're not quite there yet.”
Helmet makers in general should continue to improve the product, he said.
“But you can have the greatest helmet in the world and there's only so much a helmet can do,” said Nowinski.
In the meantime, concussion cases will continue to be argued and settled in the courts. On Jan. 26, a federal judge approved an initial settlement involving the NCAA and former players who sued the college governing power. The settlement calls for a new national protocol for head injuries and a $70 million monitoring fund to assist with screenings. It also cleared the way for athletes to pursue class action suits against individual schools.
Football concussion facts
• CDC estimates 3.8 million concussions occur each year
• Only 1 in 6 concussion are diagnosed
• 90 of 94 former NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE at the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank
Signs of a concussion
• Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head
• Temporary loss of consciousness
• Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
• Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
• Dizziness or “seeing stars”
• Ringing in the ears
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Slurred speech
• Delayed response to questions
• Appearing dazed
• Fatigue
• Concentration and memory complaints
• Irritability and other personality changes
• Sleep disturbances