If you’ve ever looked up a smartphone review on YouTube before buying it, chances are you’ve come across MKBHD. Also known as Marques Brownlee, he’s built a massive following of over 20 million subscribers by breaking down the latest gadgets and tech. Recently, he gave NFL fans a peek inside a football helmet, showing off the tech and explaining how it’s used for communication with coaches on the sideline.
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Most football fans already know that NFL coaches can talk to their players during a game. But did you know it must be with just one player at a time during a play?
That means an offensive player (usually the QB) can hear the coach while their team is driving down the field, and a defensive player (usually a lineman) can hear the instructions when stopping the opposing team’s attempt. Pretty standard.
How do QBs call those plays (like Tom Brady’s favorite one: Bonzai, 74 Hoss, Z Zuke) before each snap? They get the instructions from coaches, who use the standard headsets you see every Sunday, along with a communication system on a belt pack. That system, Brownlee explained, has a button which the coach has to keep pressed to transmit a message directly to a player’s helmet. But it’s a more complicated process than it seems.
The YouTuber added that the tech inside the helmet is hard to see, but it’s there, alright. It’s a full tech package, consisting of two speakers, an encrypted receiver, and a battery. Let’s break each part down.
The receiver uses a secure, encrypted coach-to-player (C2P) communication system, so the message is only between the coach and the QB or a defensive lineman. The two speakers, one for each ear, let the player hear clearly, and the battery lasts up to six hours, enough for a full NFL game. This tech package has gotten slimmer every year, which works in line with the goal of keeping it unobtrusive.
Brownlee also revealed that there’s a green sticker with the NFL logo inside, attached behind the player’s helmet, who is receiving the message. And if you’re worried about the message being properly encrypted, there’s a black tech card at the 50-yard line that ensures it is. It also displays whether the communication line is active.
Additionally, Coaches need to send their players a message with 15 seconds or more left on the clock. If not, using that tech card, the communication can also be cut off by the officials. And just to be clear, a QB can’t send a message back to the coach through the helmet tech.
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It’s crazy how far NFL tech has come. Before helmet communication was introduced in 1994, coaches had to rely on hand signals and other visual methods to relay plays. But the progress is clear now, and next time you see a coach speaking into a mic, clipboard over his mouth, hand on the belt pack, you’ll know exactly what he’s doing.
