February 22, 2022

Often, we see football players, both amateur and professional, sporting gloves during their contests seemingly to make a fashion statement. Style has become a huge part of sports and football gloves are just one way that players can make themselves stand out. Nowadays, players have a choice between standard, solid-color gloves and crazy designs that help them show off their sense of style. Designs range from the basic one-color gloves to bright colors, custom art, and even villain masks. We’ve all heard of the saying “Look good. Feel good. Play good.”, but what actually makes these gloves beneficial to these athletes?

The most obvious benefit of wearing gloves is the sticky layer on the surface of the glove. This sticky material makes catching and gripping the ball much easier than it is to catch with your bare hands. Football gloves have become the standard at every level of football for players, specifically receivers, running backs, and tight ends, to wear during competition to give them an extra sense of security when catching and carrying the ball. While it may seem that the glove itself would throw off your grip, these gloves are made with extremely thin, light weight, and flexible material so you can maintain that sense of touch while also having an edge on your competitor with the added stickiness.

This seems like a no-brainer for receivers and running backs as they are the ones who most frequently catch and carry the ball. But what about other positions on the field? What is the benefit of a Lineman or safety wearing these sticky gloves? Football gloves provide an extra grip even for players who just need to hold onto another player. These textured gloves are perfect when you need to hold back another player, or you’re fighting for position and need an edge to keep that grip until the play is dead. Regardless of your position, football gloves can benefit you in many ways.

Football is played mostly in the fall and early winter months. In many states, this calls for frequently unpleasant weather. Football gloves help players adapt to any and all-weather conditions, including the snow and rain. The tacky surface of the glove maintains its stickiness and traction even when wet. This is essential for players to be able to continue to perform at the highest level even in uncontrollable weather situations. Thinner football gloves are more popular among all levels of football, but they don’t give you a ton of warmth on colder nights. Thinner gloves also don’t protect as well for lineman who are frequently blocking and tackling. Therefore there are various kinds of gloves, including all-purpose gloves, all-weather gloves, receiver gloves, lineman gloves, etc. Regardless of your position, there is a football glove for you.

Along with better grip and adaptability, football gloves provide protection from various things on the field. Blisters, cuts, and abrasions are inevitable with football, but your chances of getting them on your hands is much less while wearing any football glove. As we mentioned before, padded gloves are an option most commonly for positions who frequently tackle and block, but any football glove will give an extra layer of protection, so you don’t have to hold anything back while going to battle.

All in all, football gloves are now a staple in the game of football. While there are many other benefits not discussed in this article, there are just a few negatives. One of those negatives being that these gloves can begin to have an odor after just a few uses. Be sure to stay consistent on your wash routine or you will find yourself replacing these more often than you would like.

Whether you’re wearing them for that edge on your competitor or just because you want to look good under the Friday night lights, football gloves are bound to make you stand out.