As a fan of the New York Jets, I don't have a lot to be happy about this NFL football season. But at least I know that whatever poor soul ends up coaching the team next year, he or she will be wearing a comfortable headset.
For the 2025 season, the NFL plans to switch out the current headset worn by NFL coaches and replace it with a new one. The new model was introduced on stage at Sony's CES 2025 press conference.
"We have a prototype of the new coach headset we're developing with the NFL," said Neal Manowitz, president and COO of Sony Electronics. "It will feature Sony's industry leading noise-canceling technology and unparalleled sound quality. The headset will be powered by Verizon network and make its debut in the 2025 season."
After the press conference, I sat down with Manowitz and Aaron Amendolia, deputy CIO of the NFL, who gave me a closer look at the prototype. I immediately noticed that it closely resembled my own headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM4, which CNET's headphone expert David Carnoy called "nearly flawless."
The headset prototype has a just one earpiece, a big mic and a wired transmitter cable, but the design cues evoke Sony's WH-1000XM4 stereo noise-canceling headphones.
I was surprised to learn that the current NFL headsets used by coaches don't have noise cancellation. "This headset is really something built bespoke for us and our environment," Amendolia said. "And we told the Sony team, no disrespect, but it's gonna get thrown, and go through some hard times."
After I assured Manowitz that I wouldn't throw the prototype to the ground, he said I could try it on. It felt very familiar and comfortable, much like my stereo Sony XM4 headphones that I wear for hours on end -- most recently for my entire 5-hour flight to Vegas.Â
The coach's version felt a lot sturdier, with a thicker headband, and of course, it has only one earpiece, a big mic and a wired transmitter. And plenty of Sony branding.
I didn't plug in the headset, so I can't speak to its sound quality. And as a prototype, it's still in development so the design isn't final. But wearing it I felt like hey, if this tech journalist thing doesn't work out, maybe I can reach out to the Jets.Â