When the NFL season starts in September, odds are that the players will be sporting a new look. The medical director for the NFL Players Association, Thom Mayer, said that they could be wearing modified face masks to protect them from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. NFL engineers and equipment maker Oakley are currently testing prototypes, Mayer told ESPN’s Adam Schefter during his podcast.
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The masks being tested by Oakley, which makes visors for NFL helmets, could include N95 or medical-grade materials and could cover the full area behind a typical helmet face guard, reports Yahoo Sports.
One issue that is being looked at carefully — which any suitably masked civilian who wears glasses will appreciate — involves the masks fogging up. “What do we do with that?” Mayer asked during the podcast. “But these guys are used to dealing with this stuff,” he added.
No word yet on what the final design will look like, but it will be yet one more reminder that COVID-19 has changed everything, including our cherished football.
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