The NFL is a multi-billion-dollar company, but it is not taking care of the players like it should be. Concussions in the NFL have always been a problem, and in recent years this problem has become more serious and brought to the attention of the public. This problem is CTE which is caused by repeated head trauma over a period of time. Johns Hopkins University did a study on ways to test the brain to see if there are signs of head trauma, which can lead to CTE. The NFL has tried to downplay the severity of concussions and CTE, “The NFL didn’t publicly acknowledge the link between football and CTE until May 2016” (Schumaker). Recently there was a law suit against the NFL for misdiagnosing concussions so that players would stay on the field and play (Schumaker). Many of the players who were misdiagnosed now suffer from permanent brain trauma and CTE. While some did not know how to cope with this problem and took their own life like Junior Seau who was a middle linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, was a ten time all pro, and named to the 1990s all decade team. (Fainaru-Wada). Junior Seau is one of many NFL players who has taken his own life due to CTE. Doctor have done many tests on deceased football players and in one specific test it was found that, “Researchers examined the brain tissue of 128 football players who, before their deaths, played the game professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school. Of that sample, 101 players, or just under 80 percent, tested positive for CTE” (Breslow). CTE is a serious problem that needs to be fixed for not only player safety and health but also for the survival of the NFL. The NFL players want the NFL to take proactive steps towards preventing concussions which will lead to fewer head injuries. This project will side with the players about the CTE problem and how the NFL needs to do more to prevent it.  

In the NFL a player getting hit in the head is as common as scoring a touchdown. These constant hits to the head cause concussions which lead to permeant head trauma which develops into CTE. Concussions and CTE have been side effects of head collisions in football since the game was created. From 2012 to 2015 there was a total of “967 concussions between practice and the regular season”, this number does not include the postseason which produces another large sum of concussions in an NFL season (Breslow). Unfortunately, there is no way to diagnose whether a person does or does not have CTE while they are living. John’s Hopkins University did a study on living ex-players to see if they had prolonged head trauma, “They underwent MRIs, which allowed the researchers to match up the PET scan findings with anatomical locations in the volunteers' brains and check for structural abnormalities” (Hedin). While this does not tell the doctors if the players have CTE it can aid them in diagnosing whether or not an individual is more or less likely to develop it over time. One of the main causes for the rise in concussions is the lack of proper tackling technique. This technique is supposed to be taught at the youth levels of football, but the proper way to tackle is normally overlooked which leads kids to obtain bad habits which they carry for life. In a scholarly article by John Hunsucker he stated, “If proper tackling was taught in youth football children would be able to carry those skills over to higher levels of competition which will make the game much safer” (Hunsucker). Children today are taught to make the tackle but not taught how which causes players to lead with their heads and hit the opponent in the head and neck area. These are the type of hits that cause head and neck injuries such as concussions. By not teaching the proper way of tackling to young children it is hurting the game as a whole because the game becomes unsafe. Many current and former NFL players have come out saying that they would not let their child play football until they are older. This is because of the risk of learning bad habits and injuring themselves or others with these habits.  

People who oppose the fact that CTE is caused from repeated head trauma will argue that anyone can develop CTE over time. While anyone can develop CTE there has been extensive research done which proves people who suffer repeated head trauma are substantially more likely to develop the brain disease than an average person. In a recent study done by Boston University “of 100 deceased NFL players ninety-five of them tested positive for CTE. These players varied in position and time spent in the league and still 95% of them tested positive” (Breech). This is not a number that can be taken lightly and if the same test were run on non-athletes the percentage would be nowhere near as high if it were even higher than one percent. There is a clear correlation between head trauma experienced in contact sports and the development of CTE. This is why people who play football are at a higher risk of developing the brain disease than anyone else. The NFL wavers back and forth on a stance for this problem. But, they normally tend to side with the people who oppose CTE because it will hurt the brand of the NFL. This is not what people who oppose this stance on CTE would say, but when looking at the statistics this counterargument is false. 

Concussions are the leading cause of CTE, but there are three major factors on why the number of concussions has been increasing in all levels of football. The use of performance enhancing drugs is one big reason, players not being truthful to coaches and medical staff members so that they can continue to play, and how lower levels of football are not teaching the proper techniques on tackling which leads to dangerous situations for the players. Performance enhancing drugs cause players to gain muscle and mass at alarming rates while still being able to keep their physical shape. The use of PED’s creates stronger players which are faster moving players. These players lead to bigger collisions which can cause head injuries, “While the NFL cannot catch everyone who uses them, creating a stricter ban substance policy and testing everyone more often can help prevent this” (Culverhouse). The NFL suspends players longer for smoking marijuana than taking PED’s. Marijuana is legal in some states and PED’s are illegal all over so getting caught using them should be a stiffer penalty. 

For a NFL player playing football is their whole life. When they get hurt they do everything in their power to get back on the field and keep doing what they love. If a player thinks he is okay, then they might not tell a coach or medical staff member that something may be wrong. Rock Cartwright, a Washington Redskins kick returner, was interviewed about hard hits to the head and said, “"You know how a bell vibrates? That's how my brain was going at that time," Cartwright said. "I think five minutes later; I came back to myself. I went back out there and played football” (Cartwright). This shows that if a player feels they are “them self” then they will try and go back in the game. This lack of noticing a player is injured and the lack or reporting an injury are what can turn a minor head injury into a serious one. The NFL needs to have a better plan in place for spotting potential injured players and removing them from play to be tested by a league doctor. The players are making billions of dollars for the league and it is the NFL’s duty to make sure that the players are okay whether or not they want to be taken out of the game. 

In football making a tackle could be the difference between winning and losing a game. The passion to win will cause them to do anything to make the tackle. Tackling incorrectly can lead to severe damage to the head which will stay with the receiver of the contact forever. In a YouTube video about concussions and the reasons why form tackling is so important the author say, “There is talks about how some states are thinking about banning tackle football for children under 14 to prevent concussions” (Stromberg). While the brain will still not be fully developed by the age of fourteen it will have had more time to grow and learning will be easier. If this ban passes, then kids will play flag football until fourteen which will give them time to learn how to wrap up and not lead with their head. These are skills that are taught in flag football because if you lower your head then you cannot see where the flags are and you will miss. This form will carry over into the higher levels of football because once you get a habit it is hard to break. Football is a game that is played at such a high pace that if you do not use proper form then serious injuries can occur. 

The NFL has made small steps towards trying to improve their concussion protocol and substance abuse policy, but they are not doing enough to protect the players. Since the NFL is a multi-billion-dollar company they are always looking for what will make more money for the league, which is keeping the players playing. On average one NFL player makes the league $7,665,094.34 which is money the NFL does not want to lose especially if it is a superstar which makes the league way more than that. Due to this they have tended to look the other way when it comes to injuries specifically concussions. This lack of initiative is what led many ex-players to file a class action lawsuit against the NFL. These players all have early signs of dementia caused by undiagnosed concussions by NFL doctors. The NFL came out early in 2014 saying that the concussion problem was not the problem it was being made out to be, but once the lawsuit was filed they changed their position on concussions and started to lay groundwork for preventing concussions. This groundwork that the league laid out is a small step forward but nothing compared to what needs to be done to fix this serious problem. 

The NFL came out and announced a $100 million concussion incentive to do research on how to prevent concussions and add more medical staff to recognize unreported concussions (Scutti). Part of this initiative is to have “spotters” in the booths. These are trained medical professionals who are sitting in a booth who are only watching for big hits. In the case they do not remove themselves from play the “spotters” radio down to the referees and have that player removed to go through a concussion test.  This is a new initiative that was introduced in the 2016-17 season. These “spotters” were very effective in removing players from the field who would not have reported the concussion, “It’s “99.9 percent” successful, said Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, who oversees the concussion-spotting system” (Tedeschi). Unfortunately, this system does not give the “spotter” more authority than a team doctor which can lead to a team putting their best interest before the players. Also, these “spotter” are just used in the games as opposed to in all fasciitis of the game, “They are not used at NFL practices, where an estimated one-quarter of concussions were sustained last year” (Tedeschi). These are two of the major flaws in this system which could be easily fixed if the NFL was willing to possible take a hit in rating or revenue. If the NFL were to make a few minor adjustments to this system, then it could be very effective and save countless players from worsening their concussions. The NFL has also mandated that every team has an unaffiliated doctor on the sideline for every game to give an unbiased opinion on injuries which will be in the best interest of the players. But, just like with the “spotters” these unaffiliated doctors can be overruled by team doctors which in many cases is what happens unless it is evident that the player physically cannot play and still protect himself. 

Along with the increased number of doctors on the sidelines and at the games the NFL is also doing research to develop new helmets that will absorb the blow of a hit to the head, “Riddell, the largest helmet manufacturer and maker of the official helmet of the NFL, produces the Revolution Speed helmet system, which utilizes high density vinyl nitrile foam, a facemask designed to absorb some of the energy of the impact, and a larger shell to fit more padding” (Polnerow). This type of helmet is extremely accessible to any NFL player and has been proven to lighten the blow to a player’s head, but it is not as easy for the levels of football below college to obtain for every player. For just one of these helmets it will cost upwards of $400 which not everyone can afford. I personally never had one of these helmets through my thirteen years of playing football for two reasons, they were very expensive and the team issued free helmets that were just one model older. If these helmets were cheaper than they would be used more in all levels of football which would mean less concussions throughout the sport which will allow players to play longer. If the NFL is serious about this concussion prevention initiative, they should make a deal with Riddell to lower the price of the helmet and let Riddell be the official helmet of the NFL. If this were to happen then then the NFL would gain because concussions would not be as common and Riddell sales would go through the roof due to the added exposure from the deal with the NFL.

While the NFL has taken minor steps to prevent concussions which in hand will prevent CTE, they have not done enough due to the magnitude of the problem. The NFL has the resources to take on this problem head on but instead they chose to downplay it which is causing the problem to grow at a slower rate. CTE is a serious problem that needs to be fixed for not only player safety and health but also for the survival of the NFL. Head trauma and concussions are the causes of CTE which causes permanent brain damage and even death. Anything that can cause permeant damage or even death to a person is an issue that needs to be addressed. But, instead of addressing this problem with all of its attention the NFL is putting in a minimal effort. While there is no way to make football concussion free there are ways to This is why the NFL should take more of an initiative to prevent concussions and aid the players before it is too late. 

 
