What are visors for in football?
Rachel Hickman
Published Mar 10, 2026
What are visors for in football?
An optional yet beneficial addition to a football helmet is a visor. Sometimes called a shield, the visor is a curved piece of plastic that protects your eyes, reduces glare, and hides potential next moves from your opponents.
Why are tinted football visors illegal?
In college and high school, dark tinted visors are illegal. All visors are at the referee and training staff’s discretion whether or not they can be worn. The reasoning behind now allowing a dark tinted visor is mainly for concussions and injury reasons.
Why do football players wear shields?
Some football players choose to put a visor of clear plastic to prevent an eye injury. Ways players damage their eyes are from getting kicked or poked in the eye when colliding into other players on the field. Payers can accumulate dirt and grass into their eyes when falling to the ground, so this visor prevents that.
When did Oakley start making football visors?
1980’s
The sunglasses company Oakley first started making football visors out of poly-carbonate and plutonite in the early 1980’s. These synthetic materials are chemically engineered to provide superior strength over traditional plastics you might find on a pair of sunglasses.
Should you wear a visor football?
The primary function of a football visor is protection. While some players wear visors temporarily to prevent damage to an existing injury, other players wear them permanently to prevent new injuries. A football visor protects the player’s eyes from getting stricken by fingers or feet when colliding with other players.
Can quarterbacks wear visors?
While clear visors are allowed in games, their tinted counterparts are only permitted for the few players with a rare medical exemption. The NFL tweaked those rules ahead of the 2019 season to allow players to wear slightly tinted shields with a light pinkish hue, but darker ones are still banned.
Should I wear a visor in football?
Is Oakley Prizm visor legal?
Answer: Only “100% Clear” visors are accepted as legal for high school GAME use. There is no rule against using tinted or colored visors outside of game use. Check with your coach to see if he allows them.
Do football visors crack?
They’re shatter-proof which is important, because if your visor cracks they’re not legal to play in. They reduce glare (from sunlight, instead of sunglasses that may fall off, and stadium lights) and are resistant to scratches, giving good visibility to the wearer.
Why are NFL visors pink?
Those visors have a light pink tint to them. Oakey designed the visor to enhance the colors on the field for the players. While the NFL didn’t explicitly state that they would allow the tinted visors, players soon began wearing them in games nonetheless.