On Super Bowl Sunday, thirty-five players from the Seahawks and Patriots will be wearing helmets made in Salem, IL by Schutt Sports.
The number one maker of football helmets in the nation, Schutt manufactures between 300,000 and 600,000 football helmets each year for professional, collegiate and high school athletes in its Salem and Litchfield Illinois facilities. Schutt is also one of the area’s largest employers.
The business got its start in 1918 by selling basketball goals in a Litchfield hardware store and added football facegaruds to its product line in 1935. The company now makes football, softball and baseball equipment, and also supplies bases to Major League Baseball. New for the 2015 season, Schutt will offer sensor-enhanced football helmets to help coaches identify and eliminate techniques that cause excessive head/helmet contact.
“I am so proud to acknowledge the contribution of a local Illinois company that plays an important part in our great American institution known as the Super Bowl by making helmets for many of the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots players,” said Rep. John Cavaletto. “The helmets are a key piece of safety equipment that players depend on to protect them from injury while on the field, and I’m very excited that they are made right here in Illinois.”