An Arms Dealer, an Ex-N.F.L. Player and Huge Federal Contracts for Medical Gowns

The Defense Department distributed more than $1 billion in federal contracts last month to companies for disposable medical gowns to protect those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100 large and midsize companies, many with track records of successfully completing federal procurement contracts, bid for the work. But the majority of the awards ultimately went to a handful of unexpected and inexperienced companies that now find themselves on the hook to produce hundreds of millions of gowns in a matter of months.

One deal, for $323 million, went to JL Kaya, whose only prior federal contracting work was a $7,296 project to make gauze.

A batch of contracts worth $194 million went to Health Supply US, a company founded this year by a former Trump administration official.