Can this NFL Mask-Helmet and Other Branded Safety Protocols Help Save Football Season?

Not without hiccups, the MLS and PGA have resumed play. The NBA, MLB, NHL, and WNBA are on the runway getting ready for takeoff. Looming ahead in the coming months is football season, where major college conferences like the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 are already eliminating non-conference games and punting on September, probably to buy time.

The NFL, for the time being at least, is chugging along. They've canceled two of their four preseason games and the NFLPA wants them to cancel the other two as well, but so far there haven't been any delays to the regular season. The NFL is continually rolling out their safety precautions; of course, the NFL would not be the NFL without combining various safety initiatives with their branded partners.

One no-brainer item, reported on Monday in a story on ESPN, is a helmet that the league and NFLPA worked with Oakley on to have mask functionality:

The masks have small holes designed to let breath out but insulate the wearers from droplets coming in. Currently, these helmet masks are not required, but highly encouraged. The league is hoping these helmets are distributed to players as soon as training camp.

An NFL spokesperson also sent Outkick this list of their other branded safety protocols. Words are theirs:

While it might be easy to poke fun at a couple of those, I mainly just hope this all works because I really want there to be as full a football season as possible. At the end of the day, the league can do a million different things but the most important part that is under their collective control will arguably be players and coaches doing everything in their power to avoid the virus in their time away from the facilities.