Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is one of the most high-profile NFL players to use the Zero1GETTY IMAGES
Football helmet maker Vicis expects its signature Zero1 model to be "worn by players on all 32 NFL teams and more than 125 collegiate programs next season," according to Evan Webeck of the SEATTLE TIMES. The Zero1 helmet retails for $950, while the newly released youth model goes for $495 -- both "more expensive than their competitors, often by a wide margin." As Vicis "ventures into youth and high-school football, programs that don’t have the budgets of NFL or college teams have had to get creative in how to afford the headgear." The cost to outfit an entire youth team runs between $40,000 and $50,000, money that non-profit programs "don’t have sitting around." Private schools have been the "primary adapter thus so far." Across the country, players at more than 1,200 high schools will wear the Vicis Zero1 in '19, but most are "individually purchased." As it has expanded, Vicis has "nearly halved the cost of its adult helmet, which started at $1,500 and can now be had in bulk for around $700 each." Vicis CEO Dave Marver "expects that to continue." The three-year-old start-up also has its "own foundation to help curb costs" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/9).
