Every Sunday, millions of fans watch the hits. Few think about the engineering that absorbs them. Behind every helmet, pad, and tracking chip in today’s NFL is a story about advanced materials: engineered polymers, 3D-printed lattices, and electronics that depend on critical minerals.
For those of us who recruit in this space, it’s one of the clearest public examples of materials science changing an entire industry.
What Are “Advanced Materials” in Football?
In football, advanced materials are engineered for a specific job, such as absorbing impact, reducing weight, or holding up to repeated collisions. Instead of choosing a foam off the shelf, manufacturers now design the material’s structure around the forces it will face.
3D-Printed Helmet Liners
The biggest change in NFL helmets has happened inside them.
- Engineered lattices: In 2019, Riddell partnered with Carbon to produce 3D-printed helmet liners from a custom, highly damping elastomer. The lattice contains more than 140,000 individual struts designed to manage both linear and rotational impact energy (Moore, 2019).
- Proven performance: The Riddell Axiom 3D, which uses 3D-printed lattice padding made from EPU 45 with tailored densities, ranked first in NFL/NFLPA lab testing for the third year in a row in 2026. Five of the top 10 helmets included Carbon-enabled 3D-printed components (Boissonneault, 2026).
- Real adoption: According to the NFL, nearly 60% of returning players switched to higher-performing helmets for 2026. “Top-Performing” helmets were associated with nearly 30% lower on-field concussion rates than “Not Recommended” models (National Football League [NFL], 2026).
Soft-Shell Energy Absorbers
The Guardian Cap is a 12-ounce soft shell that adds an external energy-absorbing layer over the helmet. For the 2026 season, it’s required in all contact practices for every position except quarterbacks, kickers and punters (Guardian Sports, 2026).
Helmet materials are also changing who needs the cap. In 2026, 56% of players chose “Guardian Cap optional” helmet models (NFL, 2026). These are helmets whose built-in materials perform well enough that the add-on isn’t required.
Sensors in the Pads, and the Minerals Behind Them
Advanced materials in the NFL go beyond protection.
- Player tracking: RFID chips are built into players’ shoulder pads and into game balls. They send location data 10 times per second to receivers placed around the stadium, a system developed with Zebra Technologies (Adamson, 2024).
- The critical minerals connection: In November 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s final list named 60 critical minerals. It singled out rare earth elements as the group whose supply disruption would impose the highest cost on the U.S. economy, and it noted that critical minerals are used in electronics such as smartphones and hard drives. The U.S. imported 80% of the rare earth elements it used in 2024 (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2025).
On-field electronics depend on the same critical minerals and rare earth supply chains that support the wider electronics industry.
The Next Frontier: The Facemask
The work isn’t finished. The NFL reports that 44% of in-game concussions in 2025 involved facemask components, and the league has launched an innovation challenge in response (NFL, 2026). The next breakthrough will likely come from engineers who combine materials, design, and testing.
What This Means for Advanced Materials Talent
The skills behind these gains are in demand well beyond football:
- Additive manufacturing and lattice design: turning simulation into printable structures
- Polymer and elastomer chemistry: tuning materials for energy absorption
- Testing and validation: connecting lab data to real-world results
- Critical minerals and rare earth supply chains: securing the inputs that electronics depend on
Boaz Partners recruits across advanced materials, including aerospace, defense, medical, energy, semiconductors, and electric vehicles, as well as critical minerals and rare earth processing within our practice.
Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Advanced Materials, or Animal Health industry?
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References
Adamson, B. (2024, January 3). Here’s how the NFL’s Next Gen Stats technology actually works (and how it’s changed the game). SlashGear. https://www.slashgear.com/1482632/how-nfl-next-gen-stats-tech-works-explained/
Boaz Partners. (n.d.). Advanced materials recruiters. Retrieved September 30, 2026, from https://boazpartners.com/advancedmaterials/
Boissonneault, T. (2026, April 14). The top-rated NFL helmet in 2026 is 3D printed. VoxelMatters. https://www.voxelmatters.com/the-top-rated-nfl-helmet-in-2026-is-3d-printed/
Guardian Sports. (2026, April 8). NFL allows Guardian Cap 2.0 for 2026 season. https://guardiansports.com/2026/04/08/nfl-allows-guardian-cap-2-0-for-2026-season/
Moore, S. (2019, February 7). Riddell partners with Carbon to produce first 3D-printed football helmet line. PlasticsToday. https://www.plasticstoday.com/3d-printing/riddell-partners-with-carbon-to-produce-first-3d-printed-football-helmet-line
National Football League. (2026, April 14). NFL and NFLPA release 2026 helmet laboratory testing results posters as player adoption reaches new heights. NFL Player Health & Safety. https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/equipment-and-innovation/equipment-testing/nfl-and-nflpa-release-2026-helmet-laboratory-testing-results-posters-as-player-adoption-reaches-new-heights
U.S. Department of the Interior. (2025, November 7). Interior Department releases final 2025 list of critical minerals [Press release]. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-releases-final-2025-list-critical-minerals
