Custom football facemasks have been a part of the game for years, but only recently have they taken on a completely new form, changing from mere performance and protection pieces into full on branding mechanisms! Starting last year with players like Justin Tuck and Chris Canty, and now with even more unique facemasks like the sick one worn by Ray Lewis recently, players are seeing the wide benefits of customized and unique facemasks. Custom configurations not only give football players a more aggressive look, and better protection, but they are also starting to identify players, make them stand out, and are getting people talking…like, in this blog for instance.
But with this big move towards facemask customization in the NFL, comes a clamoring for all of these new, unique, and aggressive facemasks from the masses of football players around the world! Not surprisingly, everyone from Pop Warner kids to NCAA College players want to rock their own custom football facemasks, to get the same look they see on their favorite NFL players. That’s why over the passed two years, since appearing on famous players, the original Justin Tuck facemask, and now the new Big Grill 2.0 Ray Lewis facemask have together become the best selling facemasks of all time!
But now people are starting to wonder, how can I get my own custom football facemasks?
The reasons are many. Some players want the new Big Grill 2.0 look, but on a helmet that the retail-produced facemask simply isn’t compatible with. They want a Big Grill 2.0 for the ION 4D, or a Big Grill for a Riddell Revo Speed. Others want completely new football facemasks bar configurations never seen before, to create their own look. Whatever the reason though, the question is always the same; where can I get a custom facemask, and how much would one be?
The answer is short, and unfortunately disappointing. You can’t.
According to football gear production companies, they simply cannot allow end users (i.e., retail customers…people like you and me, who aren’t professional football players like, say, Ray Lewis) to create and use their own faceguards. Many things come into play, but mainly, the issues are logistics, engineering, and overall, safety.
Creating a new facemask configuration for full production and manufacturing can be an expensive and difficult process, one which is too involved to warrant making only one custom facemask for one person. But in addition to the complications and costs arising from the production process, every facemask that helmet manufacturers like Schutt, Riddell, Rawlings, or whoever else creates and releases for sale, must be approved by NOCSAE (the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment), and unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily apply to NFL players.
NOCSAE approval in and of itself can be a lengthy process, and is done to ensure the facemask is safe for use by adult and youth football players in regular game situations. It would be extremely difficult, and take a huge amount of time for football gear companies to create, manufacture, and have NOCSAE examine and approve a slew of individualized custom football facemasks for retail sale. And without the NOCSAE approval, facemask performance and in turn, player safety could be at risk.
It’s disappointing to hear, I know. But it looks like, for now, we non-NFL pro players are just going to have to settle for football facemasks manufactured and approved for retail sale. Thankfully though, companies like Schutt and Riddell have responded to the call for custom football facemasks, and are creating new and even cooler configurations for mass release all the time, developing styles similar to the Chris Canty, Ray Lewis, and Justin Tuck facemasks for sale!
| By Brandon Porter.
Brandon is a product specialist at Sports Unlimited. |
Good Morning Brandon, I am a coach at a local High School in florida and have come across a great product that we had purchased to eliminate anymore cases of staph in our locker room, we also use it on all of our equipment including the helmets and chin gaurds, it has completely eliminated the continus odors normally lingering during season, I thought this could be of help, the product is called Locker Shield, the site I found it is lockershield.net, Thanks for the Great info you always provide, Coach Cheney.
We are in the process of overcoming some obstacles in making custom football, lacrosse, hockey and baseball masks. I would be interested in speaking with you.
Sounds interesting. Forward me any information you may have to bporter@sportsunlimited.com.
I am a master welder with experience in GTAW and GMAW and I have always been enamored with the idea of creating custom facemasks for multiple sports, mainly football but after reading above that it is 99.9% impossible to make custom facemasks I am curious what the specifications NOCSAE uses. and a question for @badassmasks are you in the custom facemask business? I have a day job that pays well in the welding/fabrication industry but again this has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. If anyone has any info I would love to hear back.
Wade. Shoot me an email at BAMasks@att.net.
Thanks!
Can you make a coustom Riddell Speed Flex mask? Must have for college ball
Hi Keelan,
What kind of SpeedFlex mask are you looking for? We are getting some in within the next couple of weeks.