@idailyathlete: At first glance, it looks like something is wrong with Justin Herbert’s eyes. But those red contacts actually have a surprisingly interesting history. Back in the mid-2000s, Nike partnered with vision company Bausch + Lomb to create a product called MaxSight. The company claimed the tinted lenses could improve visual performance by increasing contrast and making objects stand out more clearly. Some even suggested they could give athletes a competitive advantage. The NFL took notice and eventually banned the lenses in 2007 over concerns that they might provide players with an unfair edge. Here’s the funny part: years of research that followed never really supported those claims. Studies found that tinted contacts didn’t significantly improve athletic performance. What they did do, however, was reduce glare and block UV light, similar to what sunglasses accomplish. That’s exactly why Herbert started experimenting with red-tinted lenses during training camp. He was tired of constantly cleaning his visor and wanted a way to reduce eye strain in bright conditions. So despite the NFL banning these contacts nearly two decades ago because they were supposedly too effective, the real benefit may have been much simpler all along: helping quarterbacks see comfortably in the sun. #nfl #justinherbert
