Patent ID: 7506384

Claim:
A shoulder pad that is worn by a player in a contact sport, the shoulder pad comprising: a central body having a pair of protective arch members operably connected, each arch member having a protective lower chest portion and a protective lower back portion and an upper portion with a raised upper segment; a side pad assembly operably connected to each arch member, the side pad assembly having an epaulet and a shoulder cap, wherein the shoulder cap overlies an acromion bone of the player and wherein the epaulet overlies a portion of both the arch member and the shoulder cap, and wherein the shoulder cap has a raised cap segment that is cooperatively dimensioned with the raised upper segment; a fastening assembly with a single, continuous flexible band that secures both the epaulet and the shoulder cap to the arch member; and, wherein the raised upper segment is aligned with the raised cap segment when the shoulder pad is worn by the player.