This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Four organizations have been awarded a total of $1.37 million by the NFL to support the creation of their helmet prototypes.

As part of the NFL Helmet Challenge, a contest with an additional prize of $1 million, receiving grants will be Impressio Inc. and CU Denver; Xenith Project Orbit; Kollide; and the University of Virginia.

The Helmet Challenge aims to stimulate the development by experts, innovators and helmet manufacturers of a new helmet that based on laboratory testing outperforms all helmets currently worn by NFL players.

The contest is sponsored by the league and Football Research Inc.