Aaron Rodgers won’t like NFL’s latest helmet announcement

While this time of the NFL offseason might have fans more excited about the upcoming draft and where their favorite prospects rank on Matt Miller’s 600-player big board, some current players might need to go helmet shopping soon. Heading into the 2025 season, the NFL has a new set of rules players must abide by in terms of player safety. The league’s new rule includes banning seven helmets from being worn, including the Riddell Foundation, the Riddell Speed Icon, the Riddell Speed, the Riddell Revolution Speed Classic, the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD, the Xenith Epic+, and the Xenith Epic, per Matt Moret of The Athletic, which will impact Aaron Rodgers specifically.

Rodgers, who’s entering his 21st season in the NFL, wore one of the soon-to-be-banned helmets in 2024: the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD, per Andrew Vasquez of USA Today.

And while Rodgers can’t use the same helmet in 2025, this isn’t the first time the NFL has forced players to change head protection.

Before the 2019 season, Rodgers had to change his helmet as the league’s CBA outlawed his former headgear. However, the rule change didn’t seemingly bother him much in 2019, based on his comments that offseason before changing his helmet.

“It’s not difficult at all,” Rodgers said about changing helmets in 2019 via ProFootballTalk. “I was wearing the one like [Brett Favre] was wearing for so long. That was a little outdated, probably, and then I think around that time when the CBA got signed, they had some better regulations about the safety quality of the helmets, and I’ve just kind of been up to date for years. Last year, my helmet — because there’s been such advancements in helmet safety — my helmet was in the not-as-safe category but anybody wearing that got one more year to find a new helmet. I knew coming in I was going to have to change.”

So, although fans think Rodgers is one of the NFL’s most annoying players, he seems relatively flexible with their player-safety rules, like not allowing outdated helmets. And considering the NFL’s concussions went down in the 2024 season, the league is always looking at ways to make the game safer.

Based on the NFL’s latest rule change, players like Aaron Rodgers must find a new helmet they like before the 2025 season. Otherwise, they could be in for a rude awakening.