How the NFL Uses VELCRO® Brand Fasteners

NFL gaming officials require players to wear protective equipment to keep them as safe as possible. Football gear has become a prominent part of the game. In fact, some types of equipment cover and protect almost every body part of a player. Modern-day innovations have made football gear more protective and easier to wear. VELCRO® Brand fasteners are one of these innovations.


Velcro-NFL

Shoulder Pads

Shoulder pads protect the shoulders, chest, and ribs. This piece of sporting equipment features hard plastic on top of padding that covers the front and back of a player. To provide more protection, NFL equipment manufacturers stuff the interior section of shoulder pads with foam and padding. An NFL team’s equipment manager can enhance this protection by using hook and loop to adjust the pads to customize protection.

Headset

NFL teams use headsets to communicate between coaches and players. On most teams, the messages are sent to the quarterbacks, so they are usually the ones who wear the headset on the field. A few years ago, the NFL updated the headset system from analog to digital to ensure clear communication. The headset’s earphones attach to the inside of the helmet with hook and loop to prevent the equipment from moving.

Cable Management

Since the NFL now uses many forms of technology, cable management is a necessity. To keep cables and cords organized, team personnel can use hook and loop cable straps to bundle these loose cords and allow camera operators and audio engineers to move about freely. This extends not just to the field on Sundays but into each team's headquarters and offices.

Football Cleats

NFL players wear football cleats to provide traction for the various surfaces they play on. Cleats prevent slipping in all types of weather conditions and on different playing surfaces. Football cleats feature laces, but some styles come with hook and loop across the top of the cleat for extra security and support.

Gloves

A team’s receivers and defensive backs usually wear tight-fitting gloves for comfort and protection while on the field. Gloves can also help them hang on to a slippery ball in wet conditions. To ensure a tight fit, the gloves fasten to a player’s wrists with hook and loop.

More Than Just Sundays

We've highlighted many applications for hook and loop on the football field, but these handy fasteners are used in team headquarters to mount and hang signage, to organize cables, to create changeable depth charts, and more.

NFL stadiums use hook and loop straps and fasteners to secure turf in place, to strap down rolls of turf, to hang signage, and to cordon off seating.

Team doctors and physical therapists use hook and loop on medical devices and braces to help players recover from injury faster and to heal better. There are a million ways hook and loop fasteners are used in professional sports every day. Explore our medical tape applications to use hook and loop products for medical services.

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