Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Monday, July 14, 2025 - 12:01 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Sony Corp. today introduced the NFL's newest coach headset. Starting this season, the generically monickered headset, which has neither a name nor model number, will be the league's official coach's headset for all 32 teams in what the manufacture says is an open-ended arrangement.
NFL's Tracie Rodburg: [The headset] has been a year in the making, but the rich history and the trust that we have with Sony have led us to this point.
The new headset represents a partnership that began last year, when the league first deployed Sony headsets. We are official partners with Sony, says Tracie Rodburg, SVP, global partnerships, NFL. They are a technology partner of the NFL because they already work on many different areas of our business and our technology. We're going to focus on how we are expanding that partnership. We've been working together for a year now to debut our official headsets that you will see on the field for this season, she adds. It has been a year in the making, but the rich history and the trust that we have with Sony have led us to this point.
Design Elements The new headset features a custom dynamic boom microphone, a change from the condenser mic on the previous year's model (Sony provided the league's coach's headsets then as well, using an existing model). According to Sony Product Manager, Audio, Shunsuke Nakahashi, the goal is to further enhance off-axis noise rejection. The microphone also automatically mutes when the boom is lifted. Further, the headset incorporates real-time signal processing, to enhance speech intelligibility, and always-on noise-cancellation software.
Another element is construction: the headset is highly robust, tested to withstand coach tantrums.
We did a lot of [drop] tests, he says, laughing, We are kind of aware of how it will be used [and are] trying to prepare for everything.
Sony's robust new coach's headset for the NFL is designed to enhance off-axis noise rejection, automatically mutes when the boom is lifted, and features real-time signal processing and always-on noise-cancellation.
Along those lines, testing included Sony design engineers' wearing it in a shower and in a freezer to check for moisture resistance and temperature stability.
We're very proud of the comfortable design, because everything will be happening outside - regardless of the weather, Nakahashi says. The game will happen, and the headset will need to support the game. We did lots of tests to make sure it is capable for NFL coaches.
NFL VP, Football Technology, Rama Ravindranathan notes that the new headset's development was a collaborative effort between Sony and the league, with the work taking palce in the U.S. and Japan and at several NFL venues, such as SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and Eagles Stadium in Philadelphia.
Testing further included taking in weather data from stadium locations around the country. Sony asked NFL teams to provide all the weather information for the last 20 years to make sure what was the lowest temperature and what was the highest temperature. he explains. The headset needs to work perfectly regardless of the weather conditions.
Also, he continues, when we visit stadiums, we report all the crowd noise, which is 100-plus decibels, and bring it back to the Sony Tokyo facility where we have some special rooms that can play back that kind of loud crowd noise to make sure those [units] will work effectively.
Adds Rodburg, This has been a true partnership where we have embraced a human-centered-design thinking process, and the development has been in constant collaboration with the NFL technology team, football operations, game operations, and also yellow hats' from the different teams.
Headset History NFL coach headsets have been an icon of the technical side of the sport for decades. The headworn contraptions, which allow coaches to communicate with each other on the sidelines and to radio play calls to the quarterback and a defensive player, date to 1956, when Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown was approached by inventors John Campbell and George Sarles with their new radio receiver that could be installed inside a quarterback's helmet, allowing one-way communication from the sideline. The concept was tested secretly and was used just as covertly in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions that year, the receiver nestled in QB George Ratterman's helmet. However, a Lions coach noticed the transmitter and complained to the league, which outlawed the devices until 1994. Then the NFL officially approved an RF connection to the quarterback's helmet, which is identified by a green sticker on the back.
The headset category became business news in 2014, when Bose, which makes high-end consumer and professional/aviation headphone and headset products, became the league's official supplier in a deal reportedly valued at $60 million, supplanting previous supplier Motorola. (The $60 million figure is an oft-cited estimate of the marketing value of the logo on the headset earpieces; no dollar figure was ever confirmed by the league or the manufacturer.) Bose's arrangement was extended in 2017 and terminated in 2022. The league used a CoachCom headset during the 2023 season before announcing the Sony arrangement in summer 2024.
With a marketing dynamic similar to that of sports footwear, the headset category is potentially very rewarding. Bose, during its run as the NFL's main headset vendor, also maintained separate endorsement relationships with several NFL players, includ
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
