I’m not an NFL coach, but I was able to wear my new Sony headphones

As a New York Jets fan, I don’t have much to be happy about NFL football season. But at least I know that whatever poor soul ends up coaching the team next year will be wearing comfortable headphones.

For the 2025 season, the NFL plans to replace the current headsets worn by NFL coaches and replace them with new ones. The new model was presented on stage at Sony Consumer Electronics Show 2025 press conference.

“We have a prototype of a new headset that we are developing with the NFL,” said Neil Manowitz, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics. “It will feature Sony’s industry-leading noise cancellation technology and unparalleled sound quality. The headphone will be powered by the Verizon network and will debut in the 2025 season.”

After the press conference, I sat down with Manowitz and Aaron Amendolia, the NFL’s deputy director of information technology, who gave me a closer look at the prototype. I noticed right away that they looked very similar to my headphones Sony WH-1000XM4, Which is what CNET headphone expert David Carnoy called “Almost flawless“.

I was surprised to learn that the current headphones used by NFL coaches do not have a noise canceling feature. “This headphone is really something designed specifically for us and our environment,” Amendoulia said. “And we told the Sony team, no disrespect, but he’s going to be taken out, and he’s going to go through some tough times.”

After I assured Manowitz that I would not throw the prototype on the ground, he said I could try it. It felt very familiar and comfortable, just like the Sony XM4 stereo headphones I wear for hours on end — most recently during my 5-hour flight to Vegas.

The Trainer version feels sturdier, with a thicker headband, and of course only has one earpiece, a large microphone, and a wired transmitter. And many Sony brands.

I didn’t connect a headphone, so I can’t speak to the sound quality. As a prototype, it is still under development so the design is not final. But when I put it on I felt like, if this tech journalist thing doesn’t work out, maybe I can communicate with airplanes.