What Gilman Gear does

Gilman Gear, legally Marty Gilman, Inc., is a privately held, family-owned manufacturer of sports training equipment founded in 1929 by Marty Gilman in Gilman, Connecticut. The company operates two factories in small-town Connecticut (village of Bozrah) with a 42-person workforce, producing padded training dummies, blocking sleds, tackling rings, blocking shields, quarterback training tools, agility equipment, and field marking gear (pylons, goalposts, first-down markers) primarily for American football, with adjacent offerings in lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, soccer, baseball, and martial arts. Core manufacturing uses molded urethane, polyurethane, and polyether foam cores with vinyl-coated polyester covers; the company holds at least eight issued US design and utility patents covering novel training equipment architectures, including a patented lacrosse goal that eliminates stringing and produces a distinctive 'ping' sound on goal. Gilman Gear is the exclusive Official Goal of World Lacrosse through 2028, an NFL official equipment supplier for 12+ seasons, and claims approximately 90% of FBS college football programs and roughly 9,000 US high schools as customers, in addition to all 32 NFL teams using its signature pylons.

The business model is direct-to-customer hardware sales with no subscription or recurring component. Revenue is generated through one-time purchases of physical training and game-day equipment, plus replacement parts and accessories. Unit pricing ranges from approximately $90 (e.g., the Big Nose padded vest) to $10,350 (7-Man Football Sled), with most core products in the $90–$2,200 range. Pricing is FOB Gilman, Connecticut, with standard Net 30 terms for institutional accounts and cash-in-advance requirements for youth teams, booster clubs, and non-school entities; custom color options carry surcharges and orders ship disassembled requiring on-site assembly. The go-to-market combines direct field sales via four named regional sales representatives covering major US territories, inside sales through a toll-free phone line (800-243-0398), and self-serve e-commerce at gilmangear.com, supplemented by earned media coverage in major US sports publications and an annual presence at the NFL Combine. Customer concentration is distributed across professional, collegiate, and high school segments with no public revenue or ARR disclosure available.

Name

Gilman Gear

Legal name

Marty Gilman, Inc.

Website

https://gilmangear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Gilman Gear is a 98-year-old, family-owned Connecticut manufacturer of football training equipment, lacrosse goals, and field marking gear, supplying all 32 NFL teams, ~90% of FBS programs, and ~9,000 US high schools via direct field sales, inside sales, and e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Training Equipment

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Physical Education & Athletics Equipment (Gym, Sports Gear, Scoreboards) (EDAEAIAG)

Keywords

• Football training equipment
• Blocking sleds
• Tackling dummies
• Lacrosse goals
• Sports practice gear

Headquarters

HQ city

Gilman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sports Training Equipment Sales: Gilman Gear generates revenue primarily through the direct sale of physical sports training equipment including football sleds, tackling dummies, blocking shields, lacrosse goals, and other conditioning products. Sales are one-time transactions with no recurring subscription component. The company also sells replacement parts and accessories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gilman Gear designs and manufactures physical sports training and game-day equipment, primarily for football and lacrosse. The company produces blocking sleds, tackling dummies, blocking shields, quarterback training tools, receiver/defensive back aids, agility equipment, and patented lacrosse goals. Products are built in-house at its two Connecticut factories using molded foam cores (urethane, polyurethane, polyether) with vinyl-coated polyester covers, and are sold to professional, collegiate, and scholastic athletic programs.

Product overview

Gilman Gear is a manufacturer of sports training equipment founded in 1929, offering a comprehensive portfolio of practice equipment for football, lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, soccer, baseball, martial arts, and strength & conditioning. The product lineup centers on football training equipment including blocking sleds (1-Man through 7-Man, Gauntlet, Fit, Shiver Board, Hip Thrust), tackling dummies (Big Bertha, Popback, Driveback, Roll Tackle Ring, Comeback, Fightback, Standback, Blockaide), quarterback training tools (Portable QB Net, Drop-In Net, Elevator Net, QB Buddy, Sack Machine, Sackmaster), receiver and defensive back training aids (Big Nose, Press Protector, Distraction Arms, Thor's Helmet), shields and pads (Fireball, Fit Shield, Bod Shield, Combo Shield, Hog Handler), agility equipment (Tri-Fold Ladder, Quick Step, Portable Rope), and lacrosse goals (Official Goal of World Lacrosse through 2028 with patented 'ping' sound technology). The company also offers accessories, replacement parts, and serves the NFL, NCAA, and high school markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Football Blocking Sleds Multi-position blocking and tackling sleds (1-Man, 2-Man, 3-Man, 4-Man, 5-Man, 7-Man, Wide Gap, Fit Sled, Shiver Board, Hip Thrust, Drive Bag, COMBO PRO, Combo Power Sled, Indoor Ramback, Hay Baler, Crab Sled) used by football programs for offensive and defensive line drills.
• Football Tackling Dummies Tackling, blocking, and step-over dummies (Big Bertha, Quad, Popback, Driveback, Standback, Blockaide 1 & 2, Power Post, I-Back, Halfback, Jet Step, Roll Tackle Ring, Ball Ring, Cut Block, Comeback, Spotback) for tackling, blocking, and agility drills.
• Football Blocking Shields

Quantifiable outcome

• All 32 NFL teams use Gilman Gear pylons
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World LacrosseflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024World Lacrosse announced Gilman Gear as the Official Goal of the International Federation in a multi-year partnership running through 2028. Under this partnership, Gilman Gear lacrosse goals will be exclusively used in competition across World Lacrosse's premier championship events including the World Lacrosse Women's Championship (Tokyo, 2026), Men's Championship (Japan, 2027), Sixes Championships (2027), and Box Championships (2028). The partnership includes digital integration across World Lacrosse's owned digital channels including WL TV.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gilmangear
• Facebookfacebook.com/GilmanGear
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gilman-gear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gilman Gear