The present invention is a football helmet designed to reduce the occurrence of concussions and subconcussive impacts to the brain through the use of a novel system of materials and design implemented on the interior and exterior of the helmet. The helmet disclosed herein can include a new impact absorption system using cylindrical segments of viscoelastic foam with a sealed central void to absorb high energy impacts. In some aspects, the helmet disclosed herein includes a multi-layer helmet designed to absorb a wide range of potential impacts.