What Has the NFL Done to Prevent Concussions?

Professional NFL athletes are literally getting paid to put their life on the line as the game’s tackles aspect results in head trauma for many players that live with them and can also be fatal. What has the NFL done to prevent concussions, and are they doing enough to protect their players?

The NFL’s first exposure to definite concussions was in 2002, when former Pittsburgh Steelers center passed away at the age of 50. An autopsy of his body revealed a rare degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Symptoms of CTE include behavioral swings like aggressions and paranoia and has cognitive symptoms like short-term memory loss and impaired judgement, among many other possible developments of other conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It was common in boxers, but at this point experts realized that football players were also affected. It was the first time that concrete evidence was found linking the sport to permanent brain damage, and when the news was revealed, the NFL did everything they could to deny allegations.

Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster poses for a team headshot. Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp – 1990’s (AP Photo/NFL Photos)

In 2014, more shocking news revealed that in a study of 79 deceased NFL players, 76 of them had CTE. However, despite all this evidence, the NFL denied allegations. Former players like Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling committed suicide years prior and their brains revealed signs of CTE. By June 2012, former players filed a lawsuit that the NFL would fight all the way to the Supreme Court.


In 2016, more than 20,000 former NFL players sued the league and won in a $1 billion settlement. The lawsuit accused the NFL of covering up the link between CTE and football. That same year, NFL representatives testified before Congress that there was a link. Up until this time, the NFL denied culpability. But 2016 was the breakthrough year, with the Associated Press reporting on the NFL’s estimate that one-third of their former league players could develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

The settlement caused the NFL to finally begin taking steps to change league rules and protect their players. By 2018, the NFL had implemented 44-rule changes designed to protect players from the risks of developing CTE later on, with 8 of them being added between 2016-2018. A full list can be seen here, but some important changes include:

  • Broadening the helmet hit rules to penalize players and teams who lead with their helmet on any type of play.
  • Kickoff rule changes that eliminated a running start on kickoff returns.
  • Prohibiting the blindside block into defenseless players.

 


In 2019, the NFL reported that concussions lowered by 30%. However, according to statistics on diagnosed concussions, they are still prevalent despite the rule changes. NFL players are also taught to fight through the pain to get to the glory. So, there needs to be different reforms. One idea is the football helmet: it was made primarily to prevent skull fractures, but never for concussions. Companies like VICIS have released helmets with multiple soft layers to lower impact of blunt force over the past years.

Obviously, more needs to be done, but at least the NFL was able to take accountability at one point and invest in making the game safer for players.

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