NFL players have a life expectancy of 55 years: study

[speak easy]

A University of North Carolina study is painting a sobering portrait of head trauma and the long-term affects on professional football players who take thousands of hits to the head over their careers.

In what may be the most stunning revelation contained in the study, doctors determined that the [average] life expectancy for all pro football players, from quarterbacks to kickers, is 55 years, while some insurance providers say it is 51 years.

Conducted by the Matthew A. Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at UNC, the study found that repeatedly concussed NFL players have five times the rate of mild cognitive impairment than the average person, while retired NFLers suffer from Alzheimer's disease at a 37 per cent higher rate.

https://www.cp24.com/nfl-players-have-a-life-expectancy-of-55-years-study-1.628069

[twodogsbarking]

1. What Bob Costas said that got him in trouble.

"The reality is that this game destroys people's brains. "You cannot change the basic nature of the game. I certainly would not let, if I had an athletically gifted 12- or 13-year-old son, I would not let him play football." Feb 11, 2019

[617Blue]

5. Destroys their bodies as well...

There is simply nothing about the actual playing of a football game that is good for the human body. Yes of course the training and the workouts and the fitness part of it great. But the game itself, not good. The older I get the more I cringe when I watch a game.

[BlackSkimmer]

39. They are encouraged to eat like horses during their playing days.

But when the calorie expenditure no longer outweighs the intake, a whole host of other problems ensue.

[krkaufman]

49. Fossil fuels and climate change

Couldn’t help but think of fossil fuels and climate change as I read your post, seeing how football and the NFL has expanded (24x365 coverage, fantasy + alternate leagues) rather than contracted alongside the CTE diagnoses.

[phylny]

50. My husband played high school football

and went as a non-scholarship player to the University of Delaware to play. He quit after about a month. He said the guys were way bigger and way stronger, and this was back in the mid-70s.

[PCIntern]

2. A story:

In the 1980s, I knew a young man about 17 who was boxing as an amateur in Philadelphia in the lightweight class. His father had some prominence in certain circles in the city and apparently, I found after the fact, was setting him up with relatively easy opponents. Somehow, he got invited to the US Olympic tryout, a couple years later, and some kid tuned him up so badly even with the head protector on that he was never the same. He to this day and he’s in his 50s, is slow, does not process well, and is on extremely restricted employment duty at his job. He was hired to this job because his father was who he was.

I have absolutely no doubt that these blows to the head are extraordinarily deleterious and Bob Costas and many others are exactly right.

[Jim__]

7. The thing about head protectors is they can't protect against the brain crashing into the skull.

The protection is extremely limited.

[PCIntern]

23. Yes

I just wanted to make a point that so-called precautions were taken, such as they are. Of course, the force is translated through the protector to the brain.

[GenThePerservering]

37. I used to box

and used no head protection - I just kept my head out of the way, which is really tough to do when one advances in rounds - I aged out of the sport before then. MMA is better because the heart of it is so often wrestling, and the gloves are very small - the hand is a friable weapon and heads are hard, so there is a lot less chance of getting head shots with those little gloves and instead deciding the bout by submission.

Cycling is a popular sport for football players, particularly after they retire - I used to ride with three ex-pros and they all talked about how rough the game was and how short your career could be. Changes in turf have helped, though.

[BlackSkimmer]

41. I was so impressed (and happy) that Luke Kuechle called it quits when he did.

The smart ones can do that, but the others are pretty much trapped. What else can they do?

I tutored football players while in college. I was gobsmacked at the reading levels (if any) of some of those guys. Some were barely literate. It was a terribly sad thing to realize that no one cared about what they really learned. I remember being furious about it.

They just somehow wanted these guys to stay in college, when most of them would have been better off with 4th grade work.

And if my math skills were better than theirs? I found that was truly a frightening thing. I still remember trying to teach SUBTRACTION to a guy.

I've often wondered what happened to him,

[Earth-shine]

21. Perpetually punch drunk.

From Google ...

About "Punch-Drunk" Syndrome

A study published in 1928 in the Journal of the American Medical Association was the first to describe dementia pugilistica. The report noted that boxers who suffer from this condition will commonly experience tremors, slowed movement, speech problems and confusion.

[BlackSkimmer]

42. Ali.

No better example.

[TeamProg]

28. "Punch drunk" nt

[pirsquared]

40. think Hershel Walker

cf Hershel Walker

[pirsquared]

43. think Hershel Walker

[milestogo]

3. That's why the best position is kicker.

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Hearts too

Those 335 lb linemen aren't supposed to be that big. They have to work hard to keep that much bulk on by eating huge meals several times a day and pumping iron. Puts huge strain on the heart to be that big. The ones who don’t lose a ton of weight as soon as they retire are the knee who are at risk of heart disease.

Many factors at play. Heart, brain etc. But also the knee and shoulder injuries take a toll, and every long time NFL lineman has several surgeries on their knees, feet, and ankles. They’re taking pain killers for years to cope that hurt their organs. Many are crippled by their 40s. It all adds up.

[milestogo]

10. Even players who play college football and never make it to the NFL can

end up with injuries that can cause lifelong pain.

[multigraincracker]

25. My brother played college football, Big 10.

Went to a reunion with him a few years ago and, most if not all that were still alive, were in wheel chairs, using walker or limping.
I was asked to try out by the coach my freshman year. Told him I wanted to concentrate on my grades.

I tell that to my wife’s grand kids that dream about college sports. They hang their heads when I tell them about it.

It’s just me, but I think all sports need to be separate from schools.

[milestogo]

44. I had a neighbor who played college football

and had both knees replaced before he was 40. The operation is probably better now than it was then, but I know he went through a lot of pain.

All kids see the glory, and they see athletes making a ton of money in a few years. They don't see the big picture.

[multigraincracker]

46. Brother just got the other hip replaced.

Just one knee and not much, at least to risky to do his ankle. So he limps around. I’m 73 and he is 4 years older and almost cries when I tell him I just jogged 4 miles.
I always hated every football coach I ever had. Nothing but bullies every one of them.

[carpetbagger]

32. I've seen studies pinning the excess mortality on heart disease.

300 lbs is not healthy.

[unblock]

6. flag football is far less dangerous, but i guess the violence is the point

baseball manages to keep an audience despite being quite civilized. there's still plenty of opportunity for twisted ankles, the occassional bean ball, and of course rotator cuff injuries. but the person-to-person hard hit is relatively rare (two people trying to make the same catch, or a slide (particularly into home) but it's still not the same as a football tackle where the whole point is to shove someone and/or take them down and/or make them drop the ball.

flag football is not a popular spectator sport, but it might be if pro football changed the rules to (quickly or slowly) become more like that.

or would it? it's hard to imagine. certainly right now, fans would greatly object. they like the hard hits and sacs and brutal tackles. when the violent version is available, they gravitate to it. if the violent version were to be removed, though, would they refuse to watch a less-violent alternative?

if no, then what does it say about the audience if the violence is, frankly, a big part of what they tune in to see?

[True Dough]

8. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp

had a story a few days ago about hockey fighters dying 10 years younger than their peers.

A study of former National Hockey League players shows that enforcers who spent a lot of time dropping their gloves or in the penalty box lived significantly shorter lives than their peers.

Researchers at Columbia University in New York reached the conclusion after analyzing data from 6,039 NHL players from 1967 to last spring.

The study, published Wednesday in the JAMA Network Open, found that enforcers died on average a decade younger than comparable peers who were drafted at the same rank, were of similar height and weight and played the same position.

The researchers did not find more deaths among the NHL enforcers than in the control group. "However, being an enforcer was associated with dying approximately 10 years earlier and more frequently of suicide and drug overdose than matched controls," the study reads. "Re-emphasis on player safety and improving quality of life after a hockey career should renew discussion to make fighting a game misconduct penalty in the NHL."

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-enforcers-study-1.6838788

[WestMichRad]

26. I was just gonna post this!

Thanks for beating me to it.

Hockey enforcers tend to be big guys and they play a sometimes violent physical game. It’s not always head trauma by itself that gets ‘em: for instance, Bob Probert of the Red Wings fit the bill of fighter and frequent leader in penalty minutes, but it was a heart attack that took him at age 45 (before complications of head trauma could, apparently).

[True Dough]

34. True

It could also be that some of those guys were pumping themselves full of steroids and other potentially harmful substances to get an edge in strength.

There are fewer fights on the ice today (the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is outright banning fighting), and I don't think the game is any worse for it. That said, the stickwork has to be kept in check. What Alex Pietrangelo did to Leon Draisaitl with that chop on the arm deserved a lengthier suspension.

[stopdiggin]

9. I find those numbers to be stunning ...

55 and 51? Average life expectancy? That's - - mind numbing.

(most recent figures for the U.S. male population - ~ 73 yrs)

[Rebl2]

12. I do too

In the last year or so there have been a couple of football players from the Chiefs that have passed away and they were in their mid to upper eighties.

[brewens]

14. Those guys played a different game. Not as many games per year either. If you were playing in the

50s, there was nowhere near the head shots because they didn't have the helmets they have today. They had basically a plastic shell with suspension straps. Not much more protection than a standard hard hat. You didn't just launch yourself and lead with the helmet back in those days.

[Rebl2]

16. True

I think Len Dawson played mid 1960’s to sometime in the 1970’s for the Chiefs. I must say I don’t like how they lead with the helmet and don’t know when that started. I am an older woman and never really watched football until about five years ago.

[Mr.Bill]

36. And back then you weren't

running into guys who weighed 350 pounds.

[Zeitghost]

57. Compare to other men

At 200-300 pounds and it would likely be much closer to the mean.

6'4" 290 pound men don't live long lives.

[stopdiggin]

60. you make a good point

and everything I've looked at emphasizes that there are more factors here at play than the CTE (that has everyone's immediate attention). Blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis (and multiple joint replacement), addictions and depression. (and also quite possibly some racial and genetic factors thrown in as well) But - almost any way you slice it - those are some pretty shitty numbers.

Should also throw in there that a 'considerable' number of U.S. males - are carrying around a lot of excess weight - which ought to act in leveling the playing field somewhat in terms of some of those same risk factors? And thus mortality figures?

(oh - and I'd tighten up that weight range - with 200 lbs actually being pretty darned 'weedy', and rather on the low end - for anyone who ever got close to the NFL)

[LiberalFighter]

11. Considering they use their heads to tackle and those on the receiving end

have their head slammed into the ground.

[brewens]

13. I knew it was worse than most people believe but not this bad. I have and artificial knee

and shoulder from just high school ball. The shoulder most likely cost me a scholarship to Boise State. Back when they were a good division II team. I would discourage any kid from playing if they asked me.

[barbtries]

15. that is extreme.

i only knew one person in my life who played in NFL and he didn't last too long there. He died in his early 40s from alcoholism, but now I wonder if his years of being bashed about on the football field didn't weigh in as well. sad.

[tinrobot]

17. If the average is 55 years for all players, then linemen must have even shorter life expectancy.

Why are we allowing this barbaric game to continue?

Oh yeah... money... and profits... and half time shows... and freedom!

[Elessar Zappa]

27. Players know what they're signing up for?

No reason to ban it.

[tinrobot]

33. Do they really know ?

When their parents sign kids up for Pop Warner?

Do the 14/15 year olds know when they sign up for high school football?

Do the 17/18 year olds know when they accept a full-ride scholarship for college ball?

Has the NFL fully disclosed to draftees they'll likely have brain injuries and be dead before 60?

Doubtful. I think if the athletes really, truly knew, they'd choose a different sport.

Besides, the owners and coaches DO know - yet they still recruit players into a sport that will hobble them for life.

It's exploitation, plain and simple.

[Zeitghost]

38. Anyone involved at the upper levels is well aware of the dangers

Even before we had all the facts on CTE, players knew they were destroying their bodies. They are asked questions regarding it all the time and almost every single one says they know and understand the risk and choose to play anyway.

A few sign a big contract make some money and walk away early, but most want the glory and that is their choice. Same goes for free climbers and close proximity wing suit flyers and others.

[misanthrope]

52. I played football

and can tell you that when you're in the flush of youth, those kind of warnings are easily moved the back of the shelf. You are filled with a sense that you can bounce back from injury and the deleterious effects won't be there for a long time.

It's the same thing that makes many of us foolhardy in our early years.

[Zeitghost]

55. Yes

Young people, young men especially, engage in risky behavior for fun. Ending football will not stop that.

That said, anyone getting to the NFL is aware of the issues and is certainly not being exploited.

[stopdiggin]

61. yes, absolutely.

Nobody that is playing the game today - or really over the past 30 years - is/was 'unaware' of a physical toll and penalty. (Details, facts and figures might not have been quite so readily available - but, still - a completely conscious decision to play a 'dangerous' game. All of them.)

[Old Crank]

29. Couldn't find numbers

That broke out life expectancy v position for each position. There was a breakout of early death for players with BMI that indicated obese. BMI is not a good measure for athletes. Many elite athletes where strength is required have high BMI. These people can have fat percentages of 10 or under for women and 5% for men.

But it would seem that the heart attack risk for players who don't shed that extra mass leads to heart issues and early deaths. So linemen and linebackers would prime in prime danger.

If you remember the skier Lindsey Vonn, she stated that her BMI was just in the obese category. Just as example of BMI readings for athletes. Now for the average Joe or Jane it is a relatively good measure.

[JI7]

62. It's one of the most American things

I don't watch it though . But I can see it's popularity all around me .

[mackdaddy]

18. A lot of former college athletes have long term issues a well.

A supervisor I had in the 90s had been on the Michigan State football team. He was second or third string but had still taken a lot of hits. He was in his 50s but had several operations and had quite a bit of time off due to back injuries from when he was in college decades before.

A close friend's daughter is now in her early 40s. She was on Dance teams in High School and College. She was injured several time back then where they are basically doing gymnastic flips and spins on solid wood floors. I remember a broken arm and various sprains and bruises. She also already has significant lower back issues which may require treatment.

Athletics have a lot of benefits for these young people, but like with the professionals, lifelong issues can come from the punishment to their bodies being too extreme.

[xmas74]

58. I was a middle distance runner in high school

And on the cross country team. Year round practice has come back to haunt me in my late 40s with easily diagnosed arthritis in both knees and both ankles, sources of several injuries back then. All terrain training was much harder on me than I'd ever expected.
Add in the degenerative disc discovered when I had cancer along with the long term neuropathy post chemo and I have a few days every week where I do nothing but limp around at work.

[gratuitous]

19. When I read that study done on post mortem examinations of players' brains

All but one (out of 110 or so) showed signs of CTE. I pondered that for a while, and thought of the players I had followed during their careers. Guys like Lyle Alzado and John Matuszak, who died far too young, and others who lived out their lives in unrelenting pain. And I thought, "I'm watching young men grind up their brains for my amusement."

After 50 years as a fan, I stopped watching football or contributing in any way to the sport. No, the world hasn't changed due to my one man boycott, but I have.

[misanthrope]

53. There's a selection bias in that study

Until we have an affirmative diagnostic tool that can be used while someone is alive and is applied across a wide swath of players at all levels, it is going to be difficult to assess precise numbers.

[Old Crank]

20. I heard that stat a few years ago

It was discussing NFL pensions. At that time you needed 5 years to vest and payouts could start at 55. Average career in the NFL is less than 4 years.
Any coinvcidence?

[Martin68]

22. There's an in-depth article on the subject of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in football

players in today's post. Resistance to acknowledging the issue and taking steps to deal with it is very strong among players and the NFL. Sorry about the paywall.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2023/chris-nowitski-chris-eitzman-cte-harvard/?itid=sr_1

[LudwigPastorius]

24. This, in addition to the fact that...

the length of the average NFL player’s career is a little over 3 years, is the reason I don’t begrudge million dollar contracts.

[Iggo]

30. Off topic.

“…from quarterbacks to kickers…” threw me off a bit.

Having watched a little bit of football, I read that as “…from one of the two most protected positions in the NFL to the other one of the two most protected positions in the NFL…”

Maybe they meant most respected to least respected. Yep, I bet that’s it.

Okay, back to your scheduled program!

[TeamProg]

31. I ran track in high school. 100 yd, 220, 440 relay.. The football coach asked me to try out for

the FB team. I came home told me folks at dinner that I was asked to try out for the FB team and my medical professional dad said "Absolutely not!".


I wouldn't have anyway, too many numbskull jocks. My self-identity was a "loadie musician", anyway.. My main reasons for joining the track team was to be able to go to school later in the morning with a last class P.E., and to burn off the extra energy I had.

A neighbor kid across the street played defensive back ('safety'), he broke his leg.

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. I'd like a link to this study. It gets referred to in articles, but doesn't seem to have been

published, even as an extract. This 2011 article presents it as new, but the claims of that short a life expectancy appeared a lot earlier.

This book traces it back to Ron Mix, a former player, turned workman's compensation attorney, in 1988: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rtqaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT99&lpg=PT99

Here's an actual paper, from 2012:

Results: Overall player mortality compared with that of the US population was reduced (SMR 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48?0.59). Neurodegenerative mortality was increased using both underlying cause of death rate files (SMR 2.83, 95% CI 1.36?5.21) and multiple cause of death (MCOD) rate files (SMR 3.26, 95% CI 1.90?5.22). Of the neurodegenerative causes, results were elevated (using MCOD rates) for both ALS (SMR 4.31, 95% CI 1.73?8.87) and AD (SMR 3.86, 95% CI 1.55?7.95). In internal analysis (using MCOD rates), higher neurodegenerative mortality was observed among players in speed positions compared with players in nonspeed positions (SRR 3.29, 95% CI 0.92?11.7).

Conclusions: The neurodegenerative mortality of this cohort is 3 times higher than that of the general US population; that for 2 of the major neurodegenerative subcategories, AD and ALS, is 4 times higher. These results are consistent with recent studies that suggest an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease among football players.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4098841/

So, neurodegenerative mortality is higher; but overall mortality lower. Which indicates the "55" claim is nonsense.

[Poiuyt]

45. Most of the talk on this thread is about brain damage. What about the effects of PEDs?

You don't get to be 300lbs just from eating more Wheaties than the next guy. Whenever I hear about an athlete dying prematurely, I become suspicious that some kind of performance enhancing drugs were involved.

[muriel_volestrangler]

54. See reply #35. A real study says overall mortality is lower among former NFL players

Finding out the effects of drugs on a population that is healthier than average, when people won't normally admit to using them, would be almost impossible.

[multigraincracker]

47. Jake LaMotta, the Raging Bull

was a boxer that use to block punches with his face. Latter in life you could still understand him when he talked. He was the exception. Everyone is different. Still, not worth finding out latter. I’ve been knocked out 4 times between HS football and a year of amateur boxing. I know I’m impaired. Try to use cognitive strategies to remember what I can. Eating healthy and exercise make a big difference.

[moondust]

48. Now do soccer.

There's probably a good reason why U.S.-style football never caught on in the rest of the world. As with guns, violence has consequences. Soccer is a likely healthier choice.

Plus the occasional death in high school football. I knew of one not far away when I was in HS.

[misanthrope]

56. You might be surprised

at concussion stats for soccer players.

[krkaufman]

51. college?

I’d be more interested to in hearing study results for college football players, perhaps by position, since it would apply to a whole lot more people … and the results would be more tangible to a broader swath of the population — and might stand a better chance of ending it all.

[SYFROYH]

59. Football may be at the top of the pyramid, but don't fool yourselves...

...competing at the top of your class in sports requires injuring your body over and over.

It starts at the high school levels (sometimes younger), but sports injuries and competing through the pain to win the championship exist in every sport.

Of course brain injuries are the most insidious injuries. They happen in boxing, soccer (head balls), and baseball/softball, too.