While many see the National Football League as a bastion of hopes, dreams, and gridiron glory, there is a much darker side to its business dealings that is often unpleasant to talk about. From the league’s handling of addictive painkillers to its initial attempts at suppressing the narratives surrounding concussions and head trauma, the NFL is certainly a bastion, just not one of morality.
Advertisement
With players such as Chris Olave and Tua Tagovailoa making routine trips to the medical tent to be evaluated for concussions, the fears of players sustaining life-altering head trauma are just as prevalent as ever. Whether you’re a former player or simply a fan, you’ve likely been approached about the subject at some point in time.
During a recent meetup with Formula 1’s Carlos Sainz, Tom Brady himself was reminded of the ugly truth behind gridiron football. Sainz mentioned that he had recently seen the controversial Concussion film starring Will Smith. Suffice to say, he was taken aback by the severity of football-related head injuries.
“I watched the film recently of Will Smith about the brain damage that professional footballers used to get. I didn’t know that. Honestly, in Europe, we don’t follow that much NFL… But, when I watched that film, I was shocked. I didn’t know that that was the case.”
While Brady was willing to concede that the sport is inherently dangerous, he also maintained that the majority of players come and go without ever enduring a concussion. According to the former New England Patriot, there’s more to getting a concussion than just a clean hit to the head.
“Well, it’s a lot of physical contact like head-to-head, but I think there’s a lot more that, in my opinion, plays into it, like diet, nutrition, recovery. I know thousands of football players who are great, that played 15 years and there’s zero damage.”
In referencing his renowned TB12 diet, Brady credited his dedication to self-care as playing a major role in the longevity of his playing career. For the sake of comparison, he informed Sainz that “I treated myself like an F1 car.”
Harvard Medical School releases new study on concussions in the NFL
Unfortunately, Brady’s claim that the majority of players survive the NFL without any long-term damage may not be accurate. In September of 2024, shortly after the league kicked off its 105th season, Harvard Medical School dropped a bombshell of a study.
After interviewing nearly 2,000 former NFL players, it was revealed that 34% of all players, or one in every three, believe that they have some form of CTE. According to the study,
“Players who believed they had CTE reported significantly more cognitive problems and a higher proportion of low testosterone, depression, mood instability, headaches, chronic pain, and head injury compared with those who did not have concerns about CTE.”
Perhaps the most alarming statistic to come out of the findings was that nearly 25% of all players who believed they had CTE also reported suicidal tendencies, a stark contrast to the 5% of players who reported having those same tendencies but did not believe that they had CTE. Overall, the study paints a rather dark picture for those who are honestly trying to assess the risks and rewards that come with playing in the National Football League.
For all of the glory, fame, and riches that come with being an NFL star, is it really worth risking the ability to articulate your thoughts at the age of 50? For better or worse, this is a question that more and more players will have to confront moving forward.
