Inside the NFL’s Recovery Tech Revolution

ATN breaks down how NFL teams and players plan to use recovery technology this season, from compression and massage tools to sleep tech and wearables

Recovery has become a much bigger part of how NFL teams and players manage performance, creating a growing market for companies selling everything from compression systems and massage tools to wearables, sleep technology and hydration products.

The category has also expanded well beyond what happens after a game. Players increasingly treat recovery as something that runs through training, preparation and the full football calendar, while teams have built more sophisticated systems around workload, sleep and player health.

That shift is showing up in spending and adoption across the league. According to Hyperice, every NFL team has ordered from the company in each of the past four years. Whoop, meanwhile, has worked with the NFL Players Association around player recovery and biometric data since 2017, while Sleep Number says 83% of NFL players eligible for its player program have purchased one of its smart beds.

How NFL Players Are Thinking About Recovery

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said his own approach to recovery has become more comprehensive over the course of his career.

“I’ve learned that recovery is about a lot more than what you do before or after a workout,” Burrow told Athletech News. “I’ve become much more focused on how my body feels day to day and making sure I’m doing the things that put me in the best position to perform.”

His priorities also change depending on where he is in the football calendar.

“During the season, it’s really about staying consistent and making sure I’m ready to perform week after week,” Burrow said. “In the offseason, I have more time to focus on building strength, getting my body right and preparing for the next season. Bodyarmor Fit has become a new addition to my routine because it gives me electrolytes along with a little caffeine, and I like having that in the morning to get going and get ready for the workout.”

Therabody founder Dr. Jason Wersland said Josh Allen has similarly expanded recovery across different points in his routine. The Buffalo Bills quarterback and former NFL MVP has used Therabody products since his rookie year.

“Recovery doesn’t start when the game ends,” Wersland told ATN. “For an athlete like Josh, it starts well before he steps onto the field.”

Allen uses the Theragun Pro Plus before practices, workouts and games and JetBoots Pro Plus after games and intense sessions, according to the company.

Wersland said Allen also came to Therabody looking for something he could use during games. He now uses the Theragun Mini Plus for brief treatments on his shoulders, glutes and lower back on the sideline.

Recovery Tech Becomes Tablestakes in NFL Locker Rooms 

Hyperice offers insight into how established the professional sports market for recovery partnerships has become: every NFL team has ordered the recovery technology company’s products in each of the past four years. Its most popular products in NFL locker rooms include the Normatec Elite Legs, Venom 2 Back, Hyperice X 2 Knee and Hypervolt 3 Pro massage gun. 

Newer products are also finding their way into team facilities. Hyperice said the Seattle Seahawks purchased a pair of Nike x Hyperice Hyperslides for every player. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets are testing the product, while individual players have placed pre-orders.

Hyperice’s relationships with NFL players also extend beyond product use. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and San Francisco 49ers Christian McCaffrey are both investors in the company and athlete ambassadors.

Ammortal, which makes a full-body recovery chamber combining several modalities, reports that its technology is used by 12 NFL teams. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is also an investor in the company.

Ammortal chief growth officer Curtis Christopherson told ATN the chamber “is designed to support nervous system regulation, sleep, tissue recovery, the body’s natural response to inflammation and overall performance.”

In addition to being used by Kittle, he said the machine “played a role in Matthew Stafford’s recovery routine last season.”

Recovery spending also extends beyond equipment used inside training facilities. Sleep Number has served as the NFL’s official sleep and wellness partner since 2018, offering eligible players access to its smart beds through a player program. According to its latest annual filing, 83% of eligible active NFL players have taken advantage of the program and purchased a Sleep Number bed. The partnership also includes work with the NFLPA and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society around sleep education.

Sleep technology is also becoming part of team-level recovery programs. The Inactive Company distributed 75 Inactivators Performance Sleep Masks to each of the nine NFL teams traveling internationally during the 2025 season, including the Jets, Rams, Steelers and Dolphins. The company has also supplied the NFL Draft, NFLPA Rookie Premiere and other league wellness programs since 2022.

“Players tell us they know sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer, impacting everything from reaction times to injury prevention and recovery,” The Inactive Company co-founder Lori Oliver previously told ATN.

Wearables Put More Recovery Data in Players’ Hands

Whoop represents another part of that expansion: the screenless wearable maker, valued at $10.1 billion, became the officially licensed recovery wearable of the NFLPA in 2017, when devices were offered to every current and incoming NFL player. The agreement was notable because of both its scale and that players retained ownership and control of their individual data. The NFLPA and Whoop also planned research around factors including travel, sleep, scheduling, injuries and recovery.

In 2020, the NFLPA again provided Whoop to all active players, giving them access to metrics including heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep and recovery.

In August 2026, the NFLPA published a new Whoop case study focused on the partnership and its role in player performance and recovery.

Players Are Driving Adoption

Rally, a startup aiming to compete with established recovery tech brands like Hyperice and Therabody, told ATN its massage device is being used or purchased by athletes connected to more than seven NFL organizations, including more than 10 Philadelphia Eagles players. A.J. Brown, Alvin Kamara, DeMarcus Lawrence, Jordan Davis, Grady Jarrett, Jaylen Warren and Christian Watson are among the players the company says use the product.

A meaningful portion of that adoption has come from players purchasing devices themselves rather than receiving seeded product, according to the brand.

Rally has also seen adoption start with performance staff. Ryan Bellerose, director of sports science for the Carolina Panthers, initially began using Rally himself before introducing it to players, who later asked how they could purchase their own devices. 

Why NFL Usage Matters to Recovery Brands

For many companies, elite athletes can serve as both a proving ground for products and a way to build credibility with the much larger consumer market.

Hyperice CEO Jim Huether previously told ATN  that professional, college and youth sports account for roughly 7% of the company’s revenue, even as athletes remain deeply involved in its product development. Hyperice has used feedback from elite athletes to develop products that ultimately reach everyday consumers, while its league relationships have helped give the brand visibility and credibility.

Therabody has taken a similar approach with Josh Allen, naming him its first Performance Advisor last year. In that role, Allen contributes to product development and athlete education rather than serving only as a traditional endorser.

Nutrition brands are also leaning on athlete credibility. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley joined C4 Sport as an ambassador and said he has become increasingly selective about what he incorporates into training.

Tim Reily, a C4 performance coach who has worked with NFL stars like Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, said that selectivity becomes especially pronounced as offseason training intensifies.

“Training, recovery, nutrition, hydration and supplementation all become part of an everyday routine, and athletes are incredibly intentional about what they put into their bodies,” Reily told ATN.