May 7, 2025
The UIL will begin allowing the use of Guardian Caps for Texas high school football games next season, but players must follow one important rule.
The Guardian Caps must be the same color as their school’s regular helmet.
“We want to be a little more restrictive from making sure there is not any gamesmanship as you wear a Guardian Cap,” Texas High School Coaches Association executive director Joe Martin said. “If you are playing defense and your Guardian Caps were the same color as your opponent and you were in the secondary, quarterbacks read a lot of hats.”
The large, soft-shelled, padded headgear is worn over a football helmet to protect against head injuries. The NFL started allowing players the option to use Guardian Caps last year during regular season games.
When NFL players at certain positions were required to wear them during training camp in 2022 and 2023, ESPN reported that the caps contributed to a nearly 50% reduction in concussions for the position groups that wore them.
CBS Sports reported that two teenage football players nationwide died from head injuries in August 2024, sparking conversations about the safety of youth football. Once the NCAA started allowing Guardian Caps, the UIL decided to do the same because its high schools play by NCAA rules.
“It’s an NCAA rule and it is a rule for safety. We don’t make exceptions where there is a safety rule,” Martin said. “The NCAA passed that rule Week 2 of football season last year, and we were already in the season, so in conversation with the UIL, we elected not to do that until the 2025 school year.”
The Guardian Caps, however, weren’t widely used.
“We saw a few FBS players wear them last year, not very many, and there were maybe a handful at the NFL level that wore them,” Martin said.