Effect of Concussions on National Football League Quarterback Performance

Abstract

Background: Sports-related concussion (SRC) rates are higher in American football than any other sport; therefore, the effects of SRCs on professional football players is a prevalent topic. Previous research has shown that sustaining an SRC has negative financial and overall career outcomes for athletes and may cause performance decrements after an athlete returns to play, however, the results of previous research regarding athlete performance after returning from an SRC are mixed. While some studies found that player performance in the National Football League (NFL) was unaffected upon returning from an SRC, evidence also suggests significant scoring reductions in offensive players. Although previous research has found that NFL running backs and wide receivers perform at levels similar to their performance before sustaining an SRC, little is known about quarterback performance after an SRC. There is also evidence that SRCs decrease neurocognitive performance, a quality that is crucial, especially for quarterbacks. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine changes in NFL quarterback performances upon return to play from an SRC. Method: Quarterback ratings (QBRs) and concussion data from 2012-2015 were used to determine if changes occurred in NFL quarterback performance following an SRC. Results: QBRs decreased by 13.3 points (p = 0.014) after quarterbacks return from an SRC. Conclusions: Changes in on-field performance for NFL quarterbacks after sustaining an SRC could be the result of neurocognitive decrements that impact quick reaction and decision-making skills, which may have greater impacts on quarterbacks than other positions.

Sports injuries and game stakes: Concussions in the National Football League

“…We also find results consistent with the literature for confounding variables describing game conditions such as playing surface, team strategy, and weather. These findings contribute to the literature that studies the determinants of concussion in the NFL (e.g., see Heintz et al., 2020 for a recent work). Most importantly, our results have policy implications that we review in the conclusion.…”

“…Our work also contributes to the literature that uses the same concussion data used here to study the determinants of concussions in the NFL (e.g., Dai et al, 2018;Haider et al, 2018;Heintz et al, 2020;Myer et al, 2014;Teramoto et al, 2015Teramoto et al, , 2017. 7 Smoliga and Zavorsky (2017) argues that a limitation with this literature is confounding interpretation in the presence of omitted variables and limited exogenous variation.…”

“…For a player earning the league's minimum salary of $435,000, these bonuses range from five to 45%. 8 Concussions are a common injury in American football with devastating life-changing consequences (Heintz et al, 2020;Navarro et al, 2017). After denying the importance of concussions for years, the NFL has faced multiple lawsuits from injured players (Bull, 2021).…”

An Economic Approach to Sports Injury Policies

“…Findings can vary by sport. For example, evidence from the National Football League (NFL) shows that a concussion decreases future performance (Heintz et al, 2020b), play time (Heintz et al, 2020a; Wennberg & Tator, 2008), and player salary (Navarro et al, 2017). Conversely, no evidence of decreased performance postconcussion has been found in basketball (Yengo-Kahn et al, 2016) while results are mixed in baseball (Turbyfill et al, 2021).…”