It's supposed to spread the force of a blow to the front of the head throughout the foam in the helmet so that the forehead doesn't take the direct impact...and the facemask is kind of a shock absorber.
This is from a Yahoo article on the helmet:
Case said two of the highlights of the helmet are what Riddell calls The Flex System, which is used on the facemask, and the Composite Energy Management materials used on the inside of the helmet.
“There’s a little cutout in front of the helmet that kind of gives a little bit and there’s some thick foam right behind that that rests on your forehead,” Case said. “When you take a blow from someone, your helmet is moving forward and you take that blow on the front of the helmet, that little piece gives just a little bit and disperses all that shock from the hit throughout that foam so that it’s not directly going straight onto your forehead.
“They also have four quick release points on the helmet and there’s no screwdown posts on the front of the helmet at the nose bumper. There’s nothing there so that if you do take a hard shot there you don’t have the post from the screwdown thing going straight into your forehead. And the way this facemask is built, when you take a direct blow in the front of the helmet, it gives just a little bit and bows out so that it disperses all that force and pressure before it gets to your head.
“If you see a standard helmet, you see the screwdown posts at the top of the helmet, right in the front, right above your eyes. And they’re trying to take that away because that’s where a lot of the bad hits happen that help cause concussions. So, they’re taking that whole factor out of the process. So, between that with the facemask and the flex technology right on the top of the helmet shell, they’re thinking that’s going to be a significant reduction in the amount of concussions you see.”
