Democracy Dies in Darkness
NFL

Device claims to protect athletes’ brains, but records reveal doubts at FDA

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner has a partnership with Q-Collar, a device that has been cleared by the FDA but retains an uncertain efficacy. (Adam Hunger/AP)

NFL players wear it. Some coaches and parents swear by it. But does the Q-Collar actually work?

18 min

One day this summer, Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter turned ESPN personality, interviewed New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner about his partnership with Q-Collar, the only medical device cleared by the FDA to address football’s brain injury crisis.

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“We assumed it was bull----,” McAfee said. Until, that is, he visited the website of Q30 Innovations, the company behind the Q-Collar, which touts the device as “FDA-cleared and proven to help protect the brain.”

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