With new knowledge of head injuries and there possible long-term effects being discovered every year, organizations like the National Football League (NFL) face greater challenges in protecting their athletes. From changes in the rules to the development in safer equipment, new measures are being taken to protect those who compete in the sport.
The NFL was founded on August 20, 1920, originally as the American Professional Football Conference before changing its name to the American Professional Football Association (APFA) on September 17, 1920. They finally became the National Football League on June 24, 1922. The organization has since undergone many changes though out the years to become the giant they are today. The NFL currently has 32 teams from the
The NFL is a not-for-profit organization; they are considered a trade association made up of, and financed by its 32 member teams. The organization has three officers, the commissioner, the secretary, and the treasurer. The commissioner, Roger Goodell, has ultimate authority. Elected in 2006 he is described as “the ultimate company man, having joined the NFL office 24 years ago as an intern. Now he is the most powerful man in sports, overseeing a league with long-standing labor peace, handsome television contracts and enormous popularity (Maske).” His primary focus is the game and its players as a business.
Football has always been violent. “In 1903, before the NFL existed, the New York Times compared college football, then the top of the line, to “mayhem and homicide.” The following year, 18 campus players died from head injuries. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt summoned college representatives to the White House to demand reform; rules began to change (Barrett).” However, Football remained the barbaric sport it was… In 1978, Sports Illustrated warned: “As football injuries mount, lawsuits increase, and insurance rates soar, the game is headed toward a crisis.” Sixteen years later, in 1994, SI again sounded the alarm about “disturbing statistical and anecdotal evidence that concussions are the silent epidemic of football.” Head injury has never been a secret to anyone who played, or even closely watched, the game (Barrett).”
After countless injuries and a small number of deaths, in 1994, the NFL formed the Mildly Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. This committee spent much of its time trying to downplay the effects that football has on its players. However that statistics don’t lie: “a study presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting reported on findings from a survey of 1,094 former NFL players. Fifty-one percent had been knocked unconscious more than once, 73 percent of those injured said they were not required to sit on the sidelines after head trauma, and 31 percent subsequently had difficulty with memory (Barrett).”
Since 2005 a handful of former NFL player deaths have been linked with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. CTE “to date has been confirmed only by autopsy, results from repeated jostling of the brain. It involves formation of abnormal protein tangles and may include cell death. It interferes with memory and anger control; it can cause dementia and death. Its symptoms can mimic those of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and it’s now considered the functional equivalent of dementia pugilistic (Barrett).” Top: healthy brain calls
Bottom: dead/damaged brain cells caused by numerous concussions. Resembles a brain effected by Alzheimer’s or Dementia
When this was made publicized the NFL reacted by granting former players with brain ailments $88,000 a year if they require institutionalization. It was not until October 2009, when the issue of CTE was brought before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that the NFL decided to advocate for CTE rather than combat it. In December 2009 “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell… ordered that players with concussion symptoms could no longer return to play or practice until they were cleared by a neurologist not affiliated with their organization (Barrett).” The NFL also pledged $1 million to the Boston University brain center for CTE research.
The NFL is currently facing two central accusations: “The NFL, according to the plaintiffs, should have known decades ago that repetitive head collisions created a danger of permanent brain injury. In a superior position of knowledge and authority, the league negligently failed to fulfill its legal duty to protect its players (Barrett).” The MTBI is also being accused of covering up the extent of their research and downplaying their research results.
However, the lawsuit has weak spots such as NFL players would have difficulty proving which collisions contributed to their later problems: the ones from pee-wee play, high school, college, or the pros. Also the “assumption of risk” is up for debate: professional players’ presumed knowledge that repetitive collisions could not have been good for them.
The NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy refutes all accusations: “The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league’s actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions (Barrett).” Jeffrey Miller, senior vice president for public affairs at the NFL says that the NFL now stresses player safety above all else: “We’re engaged in a cultural transformation that includes rule changes, tighter officiating, and, crucially, an attempt to persuade players to take responsibility for their health and come out of games when they’re hurt (Barrett).”
The NFL is doing major damage control since the lawsuits were brought by former Tiger’s quarterback Gene Locks. Now a tremendously successful lawyer, Locks, commends their efforts: He “acknowledges that players starting professional careers in the past couple of years have ample notice about concussion risks (Barrett).” The NFL has also agreed to set aside $100 million over 10 years to support research; that money will go to Harvard Medical School in research of CTE. Locks has stated that he believes that the case will absolutely be resolved.
Business-wise the NFL will have a large pay out for the settlement. However, not one big enough to affect the game: “Even hypothesizing an impressive-sounding $5 billion settlement, the owners could handle the tab. Paid out over 25 years… such a settlement would work out to $200 million a year. Divide that 32 ways, and each team would face a hit of $6.25 million a year (the current salary cap per team for active players is $121 million), but one the franchises could absorb without much distraction (Barrett).”
In the game of football one would think that playing the sport is not only stressful to the team owners because of injury, but also to the players. The game is their livelihood. Most players have been playing since junior high or before. Many have invested all their time and energy into the sport and don’t know anything else, or have something to fall back on. Injuries can devastate a player. Each time they step on the field they are accepting a risk of serious injury and possible death. This is also directly related to job security; players are afraid they will lose their jobs if seriously hurt. Commissioner Goodell sums this up when he said “The culture of the athlete is still too much of a play-through-it rather than player-safety mentality, many players,” he added, “have publicly admitted to hiding concussions and other head injuries (Barrett).” Job security pressures players into do their best and winning, but also pressures them not to compromise themselves, otherwise they might get released or traded.
One suggestion would be a wellness program. After further research one could find that the NFL recently implemented one. On July 26th 2012 the NFL implemented a wellness program that focuses on their employees and their families overall physical and mental health. Commissioner Roger Goodell communicated “in a letter to more than 11,000 current and former players that their health and wellness is paramount (Rapoport).” The program is called NFL Total Wellness. Goodell stated "Our initiative here is an important one because we recognize that we have to do more for our players. The time has come to expect more for players. Their families need more resources (Rapoport).” I believe this is also a great step forward. They even have a confidential hotline for players, coaches, and families. Well established wellness programs have had ample success for the players.
The NFL is doing a very good job at preventing head injuries to the extent that they can. To fully prevent injuries of football it would have to be a no contact sport, which would not be popular among fans and therefore would not be such a success that it is today. The more rules made the more the integrity of the game is compromised. Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard told CBS Sports, “Thirty years from now, I don’t think [pro football] will be in existence,” implying that new rules to discourage violence may diminish the NFL’s appeal (Barrett).”
As said before, concussions and other injuries are unavoidable. Clearly head injuries have had and will continue to have a huge impact on the sport and the company. But the measures taken have reduced the number of injuries for players. And the money from the NFL will continue to further research in concussions, and the NFL will continue to do all it can to protect the wellbeing of their players.

Works Cited
Barrett, Paul M. "Will Brain Injury Lawsuits Doom or Save the NFL?" Bloomberg Businessweek (2013): 6. Article.
Maske, Mark. "Owners Pick Goodell as NFL Commissioner." Washington Post Sports 09 August 2006: 2. Article.
Rapoport, Ian. "'NFL Total Wellness' program launched to improve player health." 26 July 2012. NFL Nes. 15 December 2013.
"SUPER BOWL XLV MOST VIEWED TELECAST IN U.S. BROADCAST HISTORY." 07 February 2011. NEWSWIRE. Document. 15 December 2013.