In the NFL, communicating via technology is a vital part of a team’s scheme, and there has been a new advancement in the headsets coaches wear on the sidelines.
The league will debut upgraded headsets during the upcoming season, with all 32 clubs having worked with the newly designed headsets during OTAs this summer. The project to redesign and invent the existing headsets began after the 2023 season in collaboration with Sony, the NFL’s corporate innovation technology partner.
“The last thing you want a coach to worry about is their headset,” Gary Brantley, the NFL’s chief information officer, told USA TODAY Sports.
The new design features a slightly larger microphone with voice recognition, muting capabilities and noise-canceling features, according to USA TODAY Sports’ report. The new, custom microphone allows the coach’s voice to be isolated in any condition — no matter the noise level of the stadium or how unpleasant the weather is.
Sony’s engineers traveled to dozens of NFL games — including international games — to record crowd noise.
What’s more, Sony engineers received weather data from the past 20 years of NFL games so they could experiment in all conditions — and experiment they did. The Tokyo-based engineers meticulously tested the durability and technological integrity of the new headsets, standing in freezers to mimic the frigid weather at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin and in showers to replicate a downpour at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, per the report.
No stone was left unturned in the NFL and Sony’s quest to innovate, and only time will tell how these new headsets impact the game.
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