Making Football Safer: Assessing the Current National Football League Policy on the Type of Helmets Allowed on the Playing Field

Abstract

In an effort to reduce concussions in football, a helmet safety-rating system was developed in 2011 that rated helmets based on their ability to reduce g-forces experienced by the head across a range of impact forces measured on the playing field. Although this was considered a major step in making the game safer, the National Football League (NFL) continues to allow players the right to choose what helmet to wear during play. This prompted us to ask: What helmets do NFL players wear and does this helmet policy make the game safer? Accordingly, we identified the helmets worn by nearly 1000 players on Week 13 of the 2015-2016 season and Week 1 of the 2016-2017 season. Using stop-motion footage, we found that players wore a wide range of helmets with varying safety ratings influenced in part by the player's position and age. Moreover, players wearing lower safety-rated helmets were more likely to receive a concussion than those wearing higher safety-rated helmets. Interestingly, many players suffering a concussion in 2015 did not switch to a higher safety-rated helmet in 2016. Using a helmet-to-helmet impactor, we found that the g-forces experienced in the highest safety-rated helmets were roughly 30% less than that for the lowest safety-rated helmets. These results suggest that the current NFL helmet policy puts players at increased risk of receiving a concussion as many players are wearing low safety-rated helmets, which transmits more energy to the brain than higher safety-rated helmets, following collision. Thus, to reduce concussions, the NFL should mandate that players only wear helmets that receive the highest safety rating.

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“…34 A protective effect of helmets in collusion sports reduces concussions by head contact. 35 The helmet-to-helmet impact is 30% less in high safety-rated ones compared to the lowest safety-rated ones in the American National Football League. 36 Data are insufficient to show that any intervention enhances recovery or diminishes long-term post-concussion sequels.…”

Sport-related Structural Brain Injury in High School and College American Football Athletes, 2002-2020: Effect of Lystedt Law

“…19 Due to the increasing risk of SRSBIs in American football, further research is necessary to assess whether helmet modifications are capable of reducing rotational accelerations and the risk of concussion. 3,10,26 Limitations It is possible that not all SRSBIs were identified by the NRCSI leading to underreporting of incidents. This is unlikely as these high profile SRSBI cases, particularly deaths, are captured in the public domain with greater frequency than noncatastrophic injuries.…”

<p>A Systematic Review of the Orthopedic Literature Involving National Hockey League Players</p>

“…[10][11][12][13] Such information helps guide effective injury prevention efforts, interventional assessments, focused treatment, and even changes in league rules and equipment, as seen in the National Football League's (NFL) response to player concussion data. [14][15][16][17][18] The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize all data published between January 1980 and March 2020 on orthopedic injuries experienced by professional ice hockey players competing in the NHL. This review also aims to characterize the existing orthopedic literature based on anatomic injury site, data source, and level of evidence, while comparing results among different data sources, including the NHLISS and AHMS, medical records, team medical staff surveys, and other internetbased sources.…”