Phil Long/Associated Press
Around Thanksgiving, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson received some news as unnerving as the sight of an all-out quarterback blitz.
The N.F.L. stars and other investors in Vicis, the heralded Seattle-based helmet maker, were officially informed that the company was running out of cash.
“Our employees are currently furloughed and we need to raise capital in order to continue operating, or we may have no other option but to wind down all operations,” wrote Ralph Greene Jr., who took over as the new chief executive just days before, in a letter reviewed by The New York Times.