Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is taking some heat for claiming that a product he endorses, Recovery Water, prevented him from suffering a concussion in the NFC Championship Game. But Wilson isn’t the only Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has endorsed such a product.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady previously endorsed a product called “NeuroSafe,” which allegedly “protects your brain from the consequences of sports-related traumatic brain injury.”
An ad for NeuroSafe shows Brady holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy and attributes to Brady a quote saying, “NeuroSafe makes me feel comfortable that if I get a concussion I can recover faster and more fully. There is no other solution on the market today that can do what NeuroSafe does. It’s that extra level of protection that gives me comfort when I’m out on the field.”
Despite Brady’s endorsement, NeuroSafe appears to have gone out of business years ago. Its website no longer exists and its Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2011.
There’s a good reason that products like this go out of business: They don’t work. They’re scams. They’re snake oil. And they’re dangerous because they mislead people about proper protocols for prevention of brain injuries. It doesn’t speak well for Wilson or Brady that they’re willing to lend their names to such products to make a buck.