Key Takeaways
- VICIS extends its Elite 11 partnership through the 2026 Finals, May 29-31 at Mira Costa High School in Los Angeles, supplying helmets to all 20 quarterbacks.
- The VICIS ZERO2 MATRIX ID, the NFL’s first position-specific helmet for quarterbacks, just earned the top rating in the NFL and NFLPA’s annual helmet testing results.
- More than 90 percent of Elite 11 alumni have earned college scholarships since the program launched in 1999, with over 70 currently on NFL rosters.
- Parent company Certor Sports has stacked governing-body partnerships including NFHS Corporate Champion status across 20,000 high schools and a USA Football alliance.
- VICIS will also host a Pro Day at the Finals, running NFL Draft-style drills in front of collegiate scouts.
A Continuing Pipeline From Pro Equipment Standards to High School Quarterbacks
VICIS and Elite 11 are returning for a third year together at the 2026 Elite 11 Finals, held May 29-31, 2026 at Mira Costa High School in Los Angeles. Every quarterback in the 20-player field will be outfitted with the VICIS ZERO2 MATRIX ID, the position-specific helmet VICIS designed for the NFL.
The partnership began in 2024 and positions VICIS as the Official Helmet Supplier of the country’s most established quarterback evaluation event. Elite 11 has run since 1999 and remains the primary national showcase for high school passers, producing more than 70 current NFL players and a college scholarship rate above 90 percent for its alumni.
A QB-Specific Helmet With a New NFL Safety Rating
The ZERO2 MATRIX ID is the NFL’s first helmet engineered specifically for quarterbacks. It just received the highest safety rating in the league and the NFLPA’s most recent Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance Results, the annual lab study that ranks helmets by impact performance.
Putting that helmet on Elite 11 athletes is the operative point. High school quarterbacks rarely have access to position-specific protective equipment at the same level as their NFL counterparts, and the Finals turn into a live testing ground for whether elite youth players will adopt the technology as they move into college rosters.
“At VICIS, protecting athletes isn’t just our business, it’s our mission,” said Jeremy Erspamer, CEO of Certor Sports. “Elite 11 brings together the best young quarterback talent in the country, and they deserve the best protection available.”
The Pro Day Becomes a Brand Asset
Alongside the helmet supply, VICIS will host the VICIS Pro Day at the Finals. The format borrows directly from the NFL Draft combine and Pro Day circuit, with structured drills designed to isolate individual quarterback skills in front of collegiate evaluators.
For VICIS, this is more than a hospitality event. It puts the brand inside the recruiting funnel at the precise moment college programs are watching, which compounds the helmet supplier visibility with a recruiting-adjacent ownable property.
Certor Sports’ Stacked Youth and High School Football Position
The Elite 11 deal sits inside a broader build by Certor Sports, the parent of both VICIS and Schutt. Earlier this year, Certor was named an Official Corporate Champion of the National Federation of State High School Associations, a multi-year alliance covering roughly 20,000 high schools nationwide. Certor was also named a partner of USA Football, the sport’s national governing body, supporting safety initiatives, player development, and coach education.
VICIS separately operates a High School Ambassador program that places its helmet technology directly with athletic directors and football programs. Stacked together, these positions give Certor distribution access at the governing body level, the program level, and the elite athlete level.
What to Watch
The combination of a top-rated QB-specific helmet, the Elite 11 supply deal, and governing-body alliances with NFHS and USA Football represents one of the most layered helmet brand strategies in the youth and high school football space. The next signal to watch is adoption rates among the high school programs that produce Elite 11 invitees, and whether the position-specific category extends beyond quarterbacks in future product cycles.
Source: Press Release, VICIS, May 28, 2026
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