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<\/p>\nWhile the cap does not eliminate concussion risk, studies have shown it can reduce it by 15 to 34 per cent.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Guardian Cap helps address impact reduction on head-to-head, or head-to-ground blows,\u201d said Hanson, Guardian Sports\u2019 chief executive officer and co-founder. \u201cNow the Guardian chinstrap is the first to improve an area where approximately half of all impacts occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Guardian chinstrap addresses a critical gap in football safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across North America, particularly at the minor and high-school levels, there has been an effort to reduce head contact in tackling. Players are taught to keep their heads up, initiate contact with their shoulders and then wrap with their arms.<\/p>\n
However, players still butt heads \u2014 offensive and defensive linemen do so on nearly every play. At every level, tacklers sometimes lack the time to use proper technique and will do whatever they can to bring the ballcarrier down, resulting in contact involving the facemask or head.<\/p>\n
Guardian\u2019s chinstrap has a hard outer shell with a foam insert and what the company describes as SoftShox technology \u2014 a hydraulic shock-absorbing mechanism positioned where the player\u2019s chin rests that engages to help absorb force from impacts to the facemask.<\/p>\n
The chinstrap became available for presale last August, and on Sept. 13, Notre Dame offensive lineman Billy Schrauth became the first player to wear it in a game.<\/p>\n
Compatible with all major helmets, the white chinstrap comes in two sizes \u2014 small\/medium and large\/extra large \u2014 and retails for $69.<\/p>\n
Guardian has shared samples and research with the CFL, which in turn did so with its teams. Each franchise will decide whether to purchase the chinstraps, though the expectation is all nine will carry them this season.<\/p>\n
CFL players choose their own equipment \u2014 including helmets, facemasks, chinstraps, shoulder and leg pads \u2014 and teams are required to make approved options available.<\/p>\n
The CFL mandated the use of Guardian Caps in 2023 during training camp and regular-season contact practices. All offensive and defensive linemen, running backs and linebackers had to wear them.<\/p>\n
That year, then-CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the introduction of Guardian Caps helped create a 42 per cent decrease in training camp concussions. In 2024, the league extended the use of the caps to defensive backs and receivers while allowing players to wear them during games.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 24, 2024, Saskatchewan running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, a native of Mont-Saint-Hilarie, Que., became the first pro football player to wear the cap during a CFL regular-season game versus the Montreal Alouettes. Others, such as B.C. Lions defensive back T.J. Lee, have followed.<\/p>\n
This season, Alaric Jackson, a Windsor, Ont., native and starting offensive lineman with the NFL\u2019s St. Louis Rams, donned the protective headgear during games. And on Jan. 26, New England guard Jared Wilson became the first player to wear a Guardian Cap in the Super Bowl, doing so in the Patriots\u2019 29-13 championship loss to the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n
The CFL is not the only football league in Canada examining the new chinstrap.<\/p>\n
\u201cU Sports is following the advancement of student-athlete protective equipment,\u201d the governing body of Canadian university sport told The Canadian Press. \u201cOnce the Guardian Sport chinstrap is approved for play by Football Canada, U Sports athletes will be permitted to use it on a volunteer basis in competitions and training.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guardian caps are also available to U Sports football players, with a number having used them during practices in 2025. U Sports said only a few wore them in regular-season games in 2025 and none in bowl games or the Vanier Cup.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the cap does not eliminate concussion risk, studies have shown it can reduce it by 15 to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-501300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}