Practices aside — when it comes to game day, it’s go time. Therefore, players are dressed appropriately to preserve their body warmth, but without hindering their athletic performances.
Wright tells PEOPLE that the Chiefs wear “Extreme Cold” gear manufactured by Reebok for the NFL 25 years ago (they don’t appear to be available for retail purchase). And since some players refuse to wear long-sleeve tops on the field — “They don’t feel like they can be athletic enough to play football,” Wright says — each team member gets a long- and short-sleeve version.
In addition to the thick tops, the players wear Extreme Cold bottoms — which Wright says the coaches wear, too. “Basic long underwear” is also worn on freezing-cold days.Partly inspired by Tom Brady, Wright tells PEOPLE they “also give out wetsuits” to the team. In fact, he says the retired NFL superstar is “where I got it from years ago!”
While the wetsuits are “made for the water,” Wright says some players on the Chiefs “use them in cold conditions.” They come in long-sleeve and short-sleeve versions and different millimeters of thickness.
Wright says he offers every player on the Chiefs the option to wear the wetsuits, but says approximately “50% of the guys wear them.” He says the Chiefs vs Dolphins game “will be the ultimate test on how many guys do wear them,” predicting “the majority of them will.”
Wright says the most important thing players must do is “keep your core warm,” crediting the wetsuits for managing the cold during the short time the players are out on the field playing the game.
When players come to the sidelines, Wright says they have “big mittens” and “a bunch of hand warmers inside them” at the ready that “keep their hands extremely warm” when they’re not moving on the field.
But when players are in the game, Wright supplies them with glove liners and gloves. Plus, he provides them with sock liners and “real good thermal socks” too. He says the hand and foot warmers are also available to the coaches, too.
And just because the players wear helmets on their heads, doesn’t mean they’re keeping them warm! That’s why Wright says he gives the players (and coaches!) stocking hats and balaclava face masks to protect their heads.
“They make them for everybody in the NFL,” he notes. “So all of ours have arrowheads on them and the Dolphins will have their logo on them — so they’re kind of custom, but they’re just a normal balaclava.
