Jacksonville, FLA. — The work the NFL has put into creating a safer environment for the sport is paying off.
There has been a lot of talk regarding the safety of football, concussions, and CTE. There are still many unknowns left to discover.
That said, the NFL and the safety of its players appear to be headed in the right direction. Not only is it better for the players and health of the game, but it also diminishes the level to which injuries can alter the fates of games or seasons.
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Last season, for instance, 13 of the 17 teams least affected by injuries made the playoffs.
Conversely, just one of the 15 teams most affected made the playoffs, the Detroit Lions. Injuries are incredibly impactful, as much as teams might want to diminish their relevance.
In 2024, the NFL saw one of its lowest injury seasons in years. According to the NFL, concussions as a whole were down 17%, the fewest total concussions since 2015.
The Guardian Caps, which were developed by the NFL, are becoming more and more popular. The NFL has stated that the caps reduce concussions by about 52%. As the data comes out, expect more and more players to consider these new safety measures.
Lower-extremity injuries have also decreased in the NFL. The league saw a 14% reduction in lower-extremity strains this past season. Taking lower-extremity strains to the extreme, the NFL saw just 38 torn ACLs in 2024, the second-lowest total since 2013. Keep in mind, more games are played now, yet still, ACL tears have decreased three straight seasons in a row.
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While it is just one play, the dynamic kickoff has helped to significantly reduce injuries on kickoffs. Compared to its old iteration, concussions on the play have been reduced by 43% and ‘lower extremity’ injuries by 48% on that play alone.
There are other factors in play that have helped to reduce injuries as well. The NFL has developed software dubbed “Digital Athlete’ in order to help predict when injuries might occur.
“The Digital Athlete is an injury prediction tool that leverages data and artificial intelligence to help clubs keep players healthy and performing at their best on the field,” according to NFL.com.
“It does this by providing a complete view of an NFL player’s experience, taking video and data from training, practice and games and using AWS technology to run millions of simulations of NFL games and specific scenarios to tell teams when players are at the highest risk of injury.”
With the changes made to kickoffs, hip-drop rules, the introduction of guardian caps, and the development of the NFL’s ‘Digital Athlete,’ the sport of football and its safety are headed in the right direction.
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