NFL, Sony set to debut new headsets for coaches this season

New York Times

14-07-2025

During the 2025 NFL season, coaches will use new headsets developed by Sony. It's part of a growing partnership between the league and the company, which also created the 'Hawk-Eye' technology that'll be used as the primary method for measuring the line to gain.
'This is just the next step in the equation — being able to bring these coaches' headsets to the NFL and working collaboratively with them to give the coaches and the teams … what they need,' Theresa Alesso, Sony Electronics' president of imaging products and solutions, said.
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The development of the new headset, which utilizes engineering principles from Sony's 1000X headphone series, began last July. The first step was conducting interviews with NFL coaches and staffers from all 32 teams.
'We spent a lot of time working with coaches and with game day assistants getting feedback,' NFL senior vice president of football operations Kimberly Fields said. 'And Sony has been a great partner to take that feedback and improve upon the design of the headset that we'll be launching this year.'
One of the main areas of focus that emerged was a desire to improve the quality of the microphone. The new headset will have a custom dynamic microphone that isolates a coach's voice from crowd noise and other sounds on the sideline. Through real-time signal processing, the microphone amplifies and filters the coaches' voices so they can be heard clearly.
Sony also improved the quality of the speakers in players' helmets so they can hear better what their coaches are saying. On-field, coach-to-player communication is allowed between a coach and one player on each side of the ball. On offense, that player is always the quarterback. It varies on defense, but it's usually a linebacker or safety. The communication is cut off either when there's 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.
It will also be easier for coaches to mute their microphones when they want to have direct in-person conversations with officials, players and other staffers. To mute the microphone, they simply have to raise the lever.
'As a head coach, communication with my staff and players is everything,' Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said in a news release. 'Sony took the time to understand exactly what we need — from clarity in noisy environments to comfort and reliability when the pressure is highest.'
Besides the changes to the headset microphone and in-helmet speakers, Sony also improved features such as noise cancellation and water resistance, in addition to making the equipment more comfortable and durable.
Last season, Sony sent audio engineers from Tokyo to conduct testing at several NFL stadiums. They recorded crowd noise, which they used in a sound room in Tokyo to test the noise cancellation. They also exposed the headsets to extreme heat and cold, rain, sleet and snow to test their ability to handle adverse conditions. There were also various drop tests to ensure the headsets can hold up when coaches inevitably slam them down in frustration.
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In addition to the lab trials, NFL coaches conducted real-world testing with the headsets during practices and preseason games last year. That led to more feedback and fine-tuning.
All 32 teams now possess the new headsets, which will be used when training camps kick off in the coming weeks. The NFL is confident the new tools will improve the overall experience for coaches once games get underway.
'We want to make sure — regardless of what happens during the game — that the technology is durable and will still work,' Fields said. 'Sony has risen to that challenge, and then some.'
(Photos courtesy of Sony)