Any NFL player who wants one can have a Sleep Number 360 Smart Bed.
Under a multiyear partnership between Sleep Number Corp. and the National Football League, the Minneapolis-based company also will help players and athletic trainers gain better insight on how good sleep habits can translate to better performance on the field.
"Consistent quality sleep helps improve an athlete's reaction," said Sleep Number CEO Shelly Ibach at a news conference Wednesday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at the company's downtown headquarters.
Sleep Number already has worked with the Vikings and Dallas Cowboys on sleep analytics.
"Our partnership builds on the deep relationship we've established with the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, who understand the connection between sleep, training and performance," Ibach said.
Eric Sugarman, the Vikings' head athletic trainer, said that, based on his experience, players have been very receptive to learning about the benefits of good sleep.
"We are very much a copycat league," Goodell said. "If one team is getting an advantage through better quality sleep, then the other teams want it."
The league's 1,800 players will all get a voucher for Sleep Number's new 360 Smart Bed. As part of the five-year agreement, Sleep Number will also offer 300 vouchers each year to rookies coming into the league.
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
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