Document Type
Article
Date of This Version
3-2014
Keywords
National Football League, premature deaths, survivability, injuries
Abstract
The National Football League (NFL) has recently received significant negative media attention surrounding the safety of its players, revolving largely around the long term health risks of playing the sport. Recent premature deaths and instances of suicide associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other football related injuries have brought the sport under increased scrutiny. By comparing mortality rates of the general population to mortality rates of players from the 1970 and 1994 NFL seasons, we test whether or not participation in football is significantly harmful to the longevity of the players. We conclude that, in total, players in the NFL have lower mortality rates than the general population. However, there is evidence that line players have higher mortality rates than other players and that those who played more games have higher mortality rates than those who played fewer games.
Working Paper Number
1401
Recommended Citation
Koning, Ruud; Matheson, Victor A.; Nathan, Anil; and Pantano, James, "The Long-Term Game: An Analysis of the Life Expectancy of National Football League Players" (2014). Economics Department Working Papers. Paper 149.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/econ_working_papers/149
Published Version
This article was published as: Koning, R., Matheson, V. A., Nathan, A., Pantano, J. (2014). The Long-Term Game: An Analysis of the Life Expectancy of National Football League Players. International Journal of Financial Studies, 2(1), pp.168-178.