Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Long-term adverse health outcomes, particularly those associated with sub-concussive blows are of growing concern among American football players. Certain NFL player attributes such as position of play, along with padded practice and field time, are likely to be strong risk factors for health outcomes. We present a preliminary analysis of mortality rates and the association of mortality with padded practice regulations instituted by the NFL and NFL Players Association. Data was collected from Pro Football Reference (http://pro-football-reference.com). Time spent in padded practice and field time was calculated from the corresponding NFL Players Association Collective Bargaining Agreement. Playing position was divided into three categories (category 1: defensive back, quarterback, wide receiver, and kicker; category 2: running back, linebacker, tight end; category 3: offensive and defensive linemen). As of July 2018, 24,860 NFL players were available for analysis. Of those, 6,603 (26.6%) had a reported date of death. Years of birth ranged from 1876-1996 and years of death from 1923-2018. The average life expectancy from birth was 79.5 years (95% CI:79.2-79.8) and the incidence rate of death was 3.94 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 3.82-4.06). No differences in risk of death were observed by position category after adjustment for birth year, BMI, and height; increasing BMI and birth year were statistically associated with increased hazard of death (p<0.05). These results are consistent with previously published results. Ongoing analysis aims to quantify the association between time spent by NFL athletes in padded practice and game play environments and life expectancy.