Players are more athletic, quicker, stronger, and more violent than ever before, and player safety is a primary priority in the NFL. Take the sport and its dangers to the next level.
In addition to the fact that injuries like torn ACLs and broken ankles are devastating for the individual players, the NFL has had a concussion problem from its inception.
Every play causes players to experience what is roughly equivalent to a little auto accident, and the future of sports has been challenged for good reason by the appearance of alarming data and actual cases of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and its awful ramifications.
For NFL football fans who have a legitimate (and well-founded) concern about player safety, there is good news.
Over the course of the preseason and regular season, 182 NFL players sustained concussions, either in games or during workouts. That represents a 17% decrease from the 2023 figure, according to Seifert.
"We're very pleased with the concussion numbers but not at all suggesting that the work is done," the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, stated in the ESPN story. "We still have a lot to do to continue to make the game safer and reduce not only concussions, but to reduce avoidable head impact."
For football fans of all skill levels, this is fantastic news because NFL events eventually influence high school, college, and even the beginning levels.