1.introduction

1.1.hero

2017 Created with Sketch. ;
Health & Safety Report

1.2.messages

Message from Commissioner Roger Goodell

“The health of NFL players continues to be our highest priority.”

Each NFL season brings with it new opportunities. An opportunity to improve—to make each season better than the last, which includes an opportunity to strive to make the game safer for our players.

Last season, we launched Play Smart. Play Safe.—our League-wide health and safety initiative—to drive progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries, enhance medical protocols and procedures, and further improve the way the game is taught and played at all levels.

This work is gaining momentum. At the heart of the initiative is a pledge of $100 million in support of independent medical research and engineering advancements and a commitment to look at new and exciting ways to protect our players and make the game safer.

Of the $100 million, the League is investing $60 million into the Engineering Roadmap—a project to better understand concussion-causing impacts and provide innovators and manufacturers with both novel research and incentives to develop advanced protective equipment. $40 million will be allocated for new medical research, primarily dedicated to neuroscience. This work is led by an independent Scientific Advisory Board that is charged with reviewing and evaluating research proposals, and recommending projects for investment.

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Message from Dr. John York

Co-Chairman, San Francisco 49ers, Chairman, NFL Owners’ Health and Safety Advisory Committee

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Message from Dr. Allen Sills

NFL Chief Medical Officer

Read message

1.3.toc

2.advanced-technology

2.1.chapter-introduction

Advanced Technology

The NFL is championing new developments in engineering, biomechanics and material science designed to better protect against injuries in sports and recreation, as well as for the military.

AP | Ben Liebenberg

2.2.overview

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2.2.1.content-brief

Overview

Four years ago, GE and the NFL launched the Head Health Initiative, a multi-year research and development program and series of open innovation challenges. This dynamic collaboration spurred breakthroughs in concussion research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, such as next-generation brain imaging technologies, groundbreaking diagnostic tools and impact-absorbing materials.

.content-full

Overview

Four years ago, GE and the NFL launched the Head Health Initiative, a multi-year research and development program and series of open innovation challenges. This dynamic collaboration spurred breakthroughs in concussion research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, such as next-generation brain imaging technologies, groundbreaking diagnostic tools and impact-absorbing materials.

Leveraging this model, the NFL continues to stimulate the marketplace to support novel developments in sports safety. The NFL’s latest research and development program, the Engineering Roadmap, is a comprehensive plan that engages the best minds in biomechanics and engineering to understand more about how head injuries happen on the football field, and use what is learned to catalyze the design of better protective equipment in the future.

1st and Future, the League’s annual Super Bowl start-up competition, attracted some of the smartest minds in sports safety technology and engineering. This year, in Houston, TX, they competed for $50,000 from the NFL to be used to continue their innovative work, and a spot in the Texas Medical Center Accelerator.

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2.3.Engneering Roadmap

The NFL’s Engineering Roadmap

2.3.1.intro

Using Science to Drive Progress Toward Better Protective Equipment

As part of the NFL’s Play Smart. Play Safe. initiative, the League pledged $60 million toward the creation and funding of a five-year project called the Engineering Roadmap. It’s a comprehensive effort to improve the understanding of the biomechanics of head injuries in professional football and to create incentives for helmet manufacturers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, universities and others to develop and commercialize new and improved protective equipment, including helmets.

Learn more about the Engineering Roadmap by clicking on the buttons below

API | Kelvin Kuo

2.3.2.experts

Driven by Experts

Football Research, Incorporated (FRI), a nonprofit corporation formed and financially supported by the NFL, manages the Engineering Roadmap. The Board of Directors includes leading engineers and experts who advise FRI on how best to achieve the goal of advancing the understanding of biomechanics in football and creating an environment where new and improved protective equipment will be developed.

The Board works closely with Dr. Kristy Arbogast and Dr. Barry Myers, consultants to the NFL Players Association, who are co-leads on essential elements of the Engineering Roadmap. Jeffrey Crandall, Ph.D., Chair of the NFL Engineering Committee, also serves a leading role in managing the Engineering Roadmap. Dr. Crandall is the Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Virginia and Principal Scientist and Consultant at Biocore, LLC.

Jeffrey Crandall, Ph.D., chairman of the NFL Engineering Committee, serves a leading role in managing the Engineering Roadmap. Dr. Crandall is the Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Virginia and Principal Scientist and Consultant at Biocore, LLC. The Board also works closely with Dr. Kristy Arbogast and Dr. Barry Myers, consultants to the NFL Players Association, who are co-leads on essential elements of the Engineering Roadmap.

Board Members

Geoff Ling,
M.D.,Ph.D., Col. (Ret.)
Barclay
Morrison III, Ph.D.
Alton (Al) Romig,
Jr., Ph.D.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
M.D.
AP | Aaron M. Sprecher
Research

Driven by Experts

2.3.3.research

Research: Measuring the On-Field Environment

Three dozen experts gathered on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, during the fall of 2016 for a collaborative research effort focused on the future design of protective equipment.

With specialties that included forensic engineering, impact sensor technology, data acquisition, biomechanics and crash reconstruction, they put sensor-enabled crash test dummies through football-like hits. The action was filmed with 18 3D motion capture cameras and 11 high-definition game day cameras to capture impacts from dozens of angles around the field with the goal to better understand the forces and motions that occur when a player receives an impact.

These videos and reconstructions of injury-causing plays will be used to strengthen the understanding of the physics underlying concussion-causing impacts, and the resulting data will be shared with manufacturers, designers, innovators, entrepreneurs and universities to help inform improved future equipment design.

Jeffrey Crandall, Ph.D., chairman of the NFL Engineering Committee, serves a leading role in managing the Engineering Roadmap. Dr. Crandall is the Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Virginia and Principal Scientist and Consultant at Biocore, LLC. The Board also works closely with Dr. Kristy Arbogast and Dr. Barry Myers, consultants to the NFL Players Association, who are co-leads on essential elements of the Engineering Roadmap.

“Once we have a model that can represent motion of the head and brain under the most common concussion scenarios, what we can do is take those models and incentivize manufacturers to design a helmet model computationally that would better protect against those injuries… then they can design it physically and get that helmet on the field.”
Jeff Crandall,
Director of The Center for Applied Biometrics at The University of Virginia
Chairman of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Engineering Committee
AP | Greg Trott
Experts
Education

Research: Measuring the On-Field Environment

2.3.4.education

Education: Experts and Innovators Learning from Each Other

In November 2016, the NFL and FRI hosted a first-of-its-kind educational conference. Hundreds of world-class biomechanics and biomedical engineering experts gathered with innovators—from inventors to equipment manufacturers to engineering students—in Washington, DC, for “The HeadHealthTECH Symposium: Fundamental Biomechanics of Concussion in the NFL.”

The conference was the first in a series of educational efforts aimed at sharing the latest biomechanical and biomedical information and encouraging collaboration. Experts shared the latest knowledge regarding the causes of concussion in professional football, including the best tools available for assessing and optimizing the design and manufacturing of protective equipment.

These discussions are a key part of the NFL’s Engineering Roadmap and an important step to educating and creating incentives for those in the marketplace to design and manufacture protective equipment that performs better than current models. Periodic symposia, webinars and other educational efforts will allow experts to share the most up-to-date biomechanical and biomedical information.


Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/NFL_Engineering%20Roadmap_FINAL_WITHOUT.mp4



“The more we learn, the more we want to continue to push the envelope on materials and design.”
Sarah Gholston,
Vice President of Merchandising at Russell Athletic
AP | Evan Pinkus
Research
Crowdsourcing

Education: Experts and Innovators Learning from Each Other

2.3.5.crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing: HeadHealthTECH Challenges Offer Incentives for Innovators and Entrepreneurs

The NFL’s HeadHealthTECH Challenges are attracting innovative grant proposals from institutions, individuals and corporations that are interested in designing the next generation of protective equipment. These proposals range from concepts to commercially ready products for use by athletes.

The TECH Challenges are operated and managed by Duke University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Duke CTSI). Duke CTSI accepts and evaluates proposals and assists some of these promising concepts to accelerate their development.

The TECH Challenges are structured to stimulate research and innovation, as well as to encourage connections with mentors and venture capitalists, with the goal of spurring developments in engineering, biomechanics, advanced sensors and material science. It’s a “high-touch” program where experts in the field work closely with grant recipients to improve their products, and those recipients retain ownership over their ideas at all times.

As part of the Engineering Roadmap, up to three HeadHealthTECH Challenges will be offered annually.

“If you’re an innovator, we want you to apply. We want you to reach out. We want to hear what your product is, we want to hear what your vision is, and we want to know in what ways we can help you succeed.”
Dr. Barry Myers,
Director of Innovation at Duke CTSI Coulter Program
Director Duke Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Education

Crowdsourcing:HeadHealthTECH Challenges Offer Incentives for Innovators and Entrepreneurs

2.4.head-health

2.4.2.overview-full

The ge-nfl Head Health Initiative

The NFL and GE launched the GE-NFL Head Health Initiative in 2013. This four-year, $60 million collaboration has accelerated innovations for improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment for traumatic brain injury.

One component of this initiative was a four-year, $40 million research and development program to develop next-generation brain imaging technologies. This includes substantial clinical trials at seven leading research centers across the country where individuals with head injuries participate in a rigorous test methodology to learn more about imaging and brain injury.

The second component of the initiative is the Head Health Challenge series, which has provided grants to scientists, academics, experts and entrepreneurs worldwide to help spur advancements to better understand, diagnose and protect against traumatic brain injury.

nfl and ge logos together
This four-year, $60 million collaboration has accelerated innovations for improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment for traumatic brain injury.

The Head Health Challenge open innovation program is supported by the NFL, GE, Under Armour and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This three-part challenge program has crowdsourced innovative ideas from experts around the world, ultimately generating more than 1,000 concepts submitted from experts in 30 countries.

Innovative Ideas from experts in 30 countries, More than 1,000 concepts submitted Innovative Ideas from experts in 30 countries, More than 1,000 concepts submitted

Head Health Challenges

Head Health Challenge III: Advancing Materials Science

In August 2017, the NFL, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), GE and Under Armour, announced the grand prize winner of the third and final challenge in the Head Health Challenge series.

The $500,000 grand prize winner, Dynamic Research Incorporated, led a research team that created a new material system for protective gear for athletes, first responders, military personnel and others who face potential impact injuries. The team is a collaboration between two companies that specialize in protection: Dynamic Research, Inc. and 6D Helmets, LLC.

Head Health Challenge III was designed to spur the discovery, design and development of advanced materials to better absorb or mitigate force within helmets, pads and other sports equipment, and consumer products that protect against traumatic brain injury.

“I congratulate the winning team and the Head Health Challenge III partners for looking for technological solutions to this important national problem. The new materials developed through this competition will have broad applications, protecting everyone from students to athletes to soldiers.”
Wilbur Ross
U.S. Secretary of Commerce

This year also saw significant developments from winners from Head Health Challenges I and II:

Caption Card: BrainScope

Head Health Challenge I:
Accelerating Diagnosis - BrainScope

BrainScope

A Head Health Challenge I grand prize winner, BrainScope, developed a hand-held device designed to provide “a rapid, objective assessment of the likelihood of the presence of traumatic brain injury in patients who present with mild symptoms at the point of care.” In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the company to market the device called Ahead 300.

AP | David J. Phillip

Caption Card: VICIS

Head Health Challenge II:
Improving Prevention - VICIS

VICIS

VICIS, a Head Health Challenge II grand prize winner, developed a helmet designed with both a soft shell that acts like a car bumper and vertical struts inside the helmet that bend and buckle. The Zero1 helmet, developed by VICIS and its academic partner, the University of Washington, is designed to mitigate the forces that may lead to concussions. The Zero1 helmet received certification from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) and is being worn by NFL and collegiate players this season.

AP | Mark Lennihan

Imagining the Future

This year, GE received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the SIGNA™ Premier available for sale. SIGNA™ Premier is a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system developed through the GE-NFL Head Health Initiative, which aimed to develop new imaging tools, particularly to aid in the detection of biomarkers for the potential diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury.

The GE-NFL Head Health Initiative has fostered the development of several novel magnetic resonance hardware and software imaging technologies aimed at acquiring high-resolution images of the brain to better understand physiology, function and structure.

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/17-040_GE_30_ONLINE_01_WEB.mp4



Spurring Innovation Through Competition

The NFL’s Annual Start-Up Competition Heats Up During Super Bowl Week

Some of the smartest minds in technology and engineering gathered in Houston, TX, this year for “1st and Future,” the NFL’s annual start-up competition.

The NFL teamed with the Texas Medical Center (TMC) for a competition focused on advancing sports technology and athlete safety. More than 200 companies submitted applications in three categories: Communicating with the Athlete, Materials to Protect the Athlete and Training the Athlete.

Participating entrepreneurs and innovators appeared in front of competition judges and an exclusive audience, including NFL team owners and executives and representatives from the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee and Texas Medical Center.

Winners were awarded tickets to Super Bowl LI, $50,000 from the NFL to be used to continue their innovative work, and a spot in the Texas Medical Center Accelerator (TMCx).

Winners of the 2016 1st and Future Competition


AP | Daniel Gluskoter

3.medical-research

3.1.chapter-introduction

Medical Research

The NFL is investing in and supporting preeminent experts and institutions to advance progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries.

3.2.overview

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3.2.1.content-brief

Overview

The NFL continues to support research endeavors that build upon the growing body of knowledge that informs how to keep players safer on and off the field. The NFL’s commitment to supporting research aims to have an impact far beyond football—benefiting athletes, the military and society overall.

.content-full

Overview

The NFL continues to support research endeavors that build upon the growing body of knowledge that informs how to keep players safer on and off the field. The NFL’s commitment to supporting research aims to have an impact far beyond football—benefiting athletes, the military and society overall.

Through the Play Smart. Play Safe. initiative, more than $40 million in funding has been allotted for additional scientific and medical research over the next five years, primarily dedicated to neuroscience. A new Scientific Advisory Board, comprising leading independent experts, doctors, scientists and clinicians, has been assembled to work with the NFL’s medical committees to identify and develop research priorities.

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3.3.scientific-advisory

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3.3.1.brief

The NFL’s Scientific Advisory Board

Renowned Leadership to Guide Medical and Neuroscience Research Funding

The NFL has assembled a Scientific Advisory Board of leading independent experts, doctors, scientists and clinicians to develop and lead a clear process to identify and support compelling proposals for scientific research.

3.3.3.tab-box

Peter Chiarelli,
Gen. (Retired)
Sidney Hinds,
M.D., M.C., Col.
David Hovda, Ph.D. David J. Shulkin, M.D. Douglas Smith, M.D. Shelly D. Timmons,
M.D., Ph.D.
Peter Chiarelli

Peter Chiarelli, Gen. (Ret.) Chairman

General Chiarelli, U.S. Army General (Retired), is Chief Executive Officer of One Mind, a brain illness related non-profit organization that works with members in the governmental, corporate, scientific and philanthropic communities to greatly accelerate large-scale research through “Open Science” data sharing and collaboration.

photo of Sidney Hinds

Sidney Hinds, M.D., M.C., Col.

Colonel Hinds is a Brain Health Research Program Coordinator at the Department of Defense, where he coordinates neurological and psychological protection, prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation research as it pertains to blast injury. He previously served as the National Director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), which serves active duty military and veterans with traumatic brain injury through state-of-the-art medical care and care coordination, and innovative clinical research and educational programs.

photo of David Hovda

David Hovda, Ph.D.

Dr. Hovda is the Director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. He is Past President of the National Neurotrauma and International Neurotrauma Societies. He has served as chair of study sections for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS). He has received a number of awards for his research on brain injury and recovery of function, including the 1991 National Head Injury Foundation Award, the Giannini Foundation Award, the Benjamin Franklin Haught Memorial Award, the 2008 Deborah L. Warden Lectureship Award and was named the Lind Lawrence Eminent Scholar for his work on the topic of Traumatic Brain Injury.

photo of David J. Shulkin

David J. Shulkin, M.D.

The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin is Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to his confirmation as Secretary, Dr. Shulkin served as the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, leading the nation's largest integrated healthcare system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.76 million veterans each year.

photo of Douglas H. Smith

Douglas H. Smith, M.D.

Dr. Smith serves as Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and is the Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor and Vice Chairman for Research and Education in Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith is also the Scientific Director for the Big Ten/Ivy League consortium on concussion. For research awards, he is director of several multi-center National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense grants on concussion and TBI-induced neurodegeneration, as well as for an NIH training grant on brain injury. Recent scientific awards for these contributions include the Dorothy Russell Medal, the highest honor conveyed by the British Neuropathological Society.

photo of Shelly D. Timmons

Shelly D. Timmons, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Timmons serves as Director of Neurotrauma, Vice Chair for the Administration Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She has been a clinical researcher for a number of years, and has participated as principal investigator in numerous clinical trials related to traumatic brain injury. She has published and lectured on a variety of topics related to traumatic brain injury, neurocritical care, spinal cord injury, blunt vascular injury and healthcare delivery throughout her career.

3.3.1.full

The NFL’s Scientific Advisory Board

Renowned Leadership to Guide Medical and Neuroscience Research Funding

The NFL has assembled a Scientific Advisory Board of leading independent experts, doctors, scientists and clinicians to develop and lead a clear process to identify and support compelling proposals for scientific research.

In September 2017, the NFL opened a funding opportunity for innovative translational research on concussion and comorbid conditions, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), as well as the natural history of concussion and associated comorbid conditions. This funding opportunity is the result of the Scientific Advisory Board’s work to develop a process for soliciting, reviewing and evaluating research proposals and directing funding.

Click below to meet the Scientific Advisory Board.

3.3.3.tab-box

Peter Chiarelli,
Gen. (Retired)
Sidney Hinds,
M.D., M.C., Col.
David Hovda, Ph.D. David J. Shulkin, M.D. Douglas Smith, M.D. Shelly D. Timmons,
M.D., Ph.D.
Peter Chiarelli

Peter Chiarelli, Gen. (Ret.) Chairman

General Chiarelli, U.S. Army General (Retired), is Chief Executive Officer of One Mind, a brain illness related non-profit organization that works with members in the governmental, corporate, scientific and philanthropic communities to greatly accelerate large-scale research through “Open Science” data sharing and collaboration.

photo of Sidney Hinds

Sidney Hinds, M.D., M.C., Col.

Colonel Hinds is a Brain Health Research Program Coordinator at the Department of Defense, where he coordinates neurological and psychological protection, prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation research as it pertains to blast injury. He previously served as the National Director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), which serves active duty military and veterans with traumatic brain injury through state-of-the-art medical care and care coordination, and innovative clinical research and educational programs.

photo of David Hovda

David Hovda, Ph.D.

Dr. Hovda is the Director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. He is Past President of the National Neurotrauma and International Neurotrauma Societies. He has served as chair of study sections for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS). He has received a number of awards for his research on brain injury and recovery of function, including the 1991 National Head Injury Foundation Award, the Giannini Foundation Award, the Benjamin Franklin Haught Memorial Award, the 2008 Deborah L. Warden Lectureship Award and was named the Lind Lawrence Eminent Scholar for his work on the topic of Traumatic Brain Injury.

photo of David J. Shulkin

David J. Shulkin, M.D.

The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin is Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to his confirmation as Secretary, Dr. Shulkin served as the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, leading the nation's largest integrated healthcare system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.76 million veterans each year.

photo of Douglas H. Smith

Douglas H. Smith, M.D.

Dr. Smith serves as Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and is the Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor and Vice Chairman for Research and Education in Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith is also the Scientific Director for the Big Ten/Ivy League consortium on concussion. For research awards, he is director of several multi-center National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense grants on concussion and TBI-induced neurodegeneration, as well as for an NIH training grant on brain injury. Recent scientific awards for these contributions include the Dorothy Russell Medal, the highest honor conveyed by the British Neuropathological Society.

photo of Shelly D. Timmons

Shelly D. Timmons, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Timmons serves as Director of Neurotrauma, Vice Chair for the Administration Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She has been a clinical researcher for a number of years, and has participated as principal investigator in numerous clinical trials related to traumatic brain injury. She has published and lectured on a variety of topics related to traumatic brain injury, neurocritical care, spinal cord injury, blunt vascular injury and healthcare delivery throughout her career.

The Scientific Advisory Board is accepting proposals from leading research teams in concussion and comorbid conditions to receive up to $20 million in grant funding over the next three to five years to support their work. The funding opportunity is intended to facilitate the translation of original, ongoing and existing research into clear clinical end points, such as progressing diagnostics, drugs, devices and treatments that advantage the patient, as well as advance understanding of the potential short- and long-term effects of concussion and associated comorbid conditions.

The intent of the initiative is to demonstrate the potential for translational breakthroughs by leveraging emerging science, current data sets and archival material on concussion and comorbid conditions.

Funding awards will be announced in early 2018.

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3.4.collaborations

3.4.2.content-full

International Collaborations

Global Reach, Global Impact

In both 2014 and 2015, the NFL brought together leaders from international sports leagues to identify promising areas for collaborative research.

The NFL held the first International Professional Sports Concussion Research Think Tank in New York in 2014. The organizations came together for a second time in 2015 to continue this work. These meetings have identified research priorities that are being addressed through several joint research initiatives.

Most recently, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Medical College of Wisconsin received a $2.6 million grant from the NFL for a study, one of the first of its kind, that will examine the efficacy of two clinically supervised management strategies, including both the international concussion return-to-play protocol and early therapeutic interventions on concussions.

This research will look at rehabilitation in a range of sports, including football, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, basketball and ice hockey. Professional athletes from the Canadian Football League (CFL) and New Zealand Rugby, college athletes, and U.S. high school athletes are participating in the study.

Other collaborative research initiatives are well underway including:

CFL logo
A collaboration between the NFL and CFL to jointly examine how an eye-movement test—the King-Devick test—may improve concussion diagnosis on the sideline.
ICHIRF logo
A partnership between the NFL and the International Concussion and Head Injury Research Foundation (ICHIRF) to fund research into the potential long-term effects and risk factors associated with high-impact sports, including horse racing.

4.protecting-players

4.1.chapter-introduction

Protecting Players

The NFL is making changes on and off the field in an effort to protect the health and safety of every player in the NFL.

AP | Tom Hauck

4.2.overview

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4.2.1.content-brief

Overview

The NFL continues its work with the NFL Players Association, NFL Physicians Society and Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society, as well as the numerous experts on the NFL’s medical committees, to identify and implement changes on and off the field to help protect the health and safety of every player.

AP | Damian Strohmeyer

.content-full

Overview

The NFL continues its work with the NFL Players Association, NFL Physicians Society and Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society, as well as the numerous experts on the NFL’s medical committees, to identify and implement changes on and off the field to help protect the health and safety of every player.

AP | Damian Strohmeyer
“I used to be a part of a great game day medical team for the Tennessee Titans as an Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant. Now I’m working with great medical teams in place for all 32 clubs. Players are our patients and the medical professionals in the NFL are committed to giving them the best care possible.”
Dr. Allen Sills, NFL Chief Medical Officer
Neck and Spine Committee

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4.3.analyzing-data

Collecting and Analyzing a Season’s Worth of Injury Data

Leveraging data to better understand trends in injuries and guide ongoing health and safety efforts

Throughout the year, comprehensive NFL player injury data is compiled and analyzed by QuintilesIMS, an independent, third-party company. Results are then shared with the NFL, the NFL Players Association and the NFL medical and football committees.

Guided by the experts at QuintilesIMS, NFL medical committee members examine the data for trends in how, where and when injuries happen. Their analysis covers all injuries impacting players, including concussions and ACL/MCL tears, and considers how protocols and rules changes are making an impact on player safety.

Click below to see the 2016 Injury Data

4.3.3.tab-box

Incidence Of Reported Concussion
(2012-2016)
Incidence Of ACL Tears
(2012-2016)
Incidence Of MCL Tears
(2012-2016)
Injuries On Kickoff Returns
(2013-2016)
Injury Rate By Day of Game
(2013-2016)
AP | James D. Smith

4.4.scouting-combine

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4.4.1.content-brief

Intensive Medical Committee Meetings during the NFL Scouting Combine

As college prospects are evaluated, leading experts examine the latest research to prevent and detect injuries

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/NFL_Combine_FINAL.mp4

4.4.2.scounting-combine-full

Intensive Medical Committee Meetings during the NFL Scouting Combine

As college prospects are evaluated, leading experts examine the latest research to prevent and detect injuries

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/NFL_Combine_FINAL.mp4


Specialists in a wide variety of disciplines relevant to player health and safety volunteer their time to explore groundbreaking research and make recommendations for how the League can continually improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries as well as invest in scientific research to promote player health and safety.

The NFL medical committees meet throughout the year to review player health and injury data and determine what policies, programs and protocols should be adopted by the League and encourage areas of scientific research.

Each year during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the NFL medical committees meet to review the previous season and begin their work to prepare for the next year. These experts analyze injury data, discuss statistical trends and identify issues that need further examination or research. Representatives from the NFL Players Association participate on each medical committee and collaborate on these initiatives.

Based on their analysis, these committees offer recommendations to try to advance player safety by continually seeking to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries.


Medical Committee Membership

Click below to meet the Medical Committee Membership

4.4.3.tab-box

Chief Medical Officer Health and Safety Committee General Medical Committee Head, Neck, and Spine Committee Musculoskeletal Committee Engineering Committee Research and Innovation Advisory Panel League Consultants

4.4.3.1.tab-one

Dr. Allen Sills

NFL Chief Medical Officer

In March 2017, Dr. Allen Sills was named the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), a new full-time position based in New York. Dr. Sills joins the NFL from Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he serves as Professor of Neurological Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, and Founder and Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.

Read full bio

4.4.3.2.tab-two

Dr. Elliott Hershman - Chair

Dr. Andrew Tucker - General Medical Committee

Dr. Robert Anderson - Musculoskeletal Committee

Dr. Ed Wojtys - Musculoskeletal Committee

Dr. Allen Sills - NFL CMO; Head, Neck and Spine Committee

Dr. John York - Owners’ Health and Safety Advisory Committee

Dr. Rob Heyer - NFL Physicians Society President

James Collins - Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society President

Dr. Thom Mayer - NFL Players Association

4.4.3.3.tab-three

Dr. Andrew Tucker - Chair

Dr. Deverick Anderson - Infectious Disease

Dr. Doug Casa - Environmental Medicine

Dr. Rob Heyer - NFL Physicians Society President

Dwight Hollier - Mental Health

Dr. Patrick Strollo - Sleep Medicine

Dr. Robert Vogel - Cardiovascular

Jim Whalen - Athletic Trainer

Dr. Thom Mayer - NFL Players Association

4.4.3.4.tab-four

Dr. Allen Sills - NFL CMO, Interim Chair

Dr. Julian Bailes

Ronnie Barnes

Dr. Mitch Berger

Dr. Javier Cardenas

James Collins - Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society President

Dr. Rob Heyer - NFL Physicians Society President

Dr. Wellington Hsu

Dr. Russell Lonser

Dr. Elizabeth Pieroth

Dr. Margot Putukian

Dr. Nicholas Theodore

Dr. Thom Mayer - NFL Players Association

Consultants to the Head, Neck and Spine Committee:

Dr. Robert Cantu - Consultant

Dr. Joseph Maroon - Consultant

4.4.3.5.tab-five

Dr. Robert Anderson - Co-Chair

Dr. Ed Wojtys - Co-Chair

Dr. Asheesh Bedi - Hip

Dr. Robert Brophy - Knee

James Collins - Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society President

Dr. Mike Coughlin - Foot and Ankle

Dr. Rob Heyer - NFL Physicians Society President

Dr. Thomas Hunt - Hand and Wrist

Dr. William Levine - Shoulder

Joe Skiba - Equipment Manager

Dr. Kurt Spindler - Research Methodology

Dr. Thom Mayer - NFL Players Association

4.4.3.7.tab-seven

Dr. Jeff Crandall - Chair

Dr. Cynthia Bir

Dr. Randal Ching

Dr. Rich Kent

Dr. Frank Pintar

Dr. David Meaney

Dr. Raul Radovitzky

Dr. Darren Stefanyshyn

Consultants to the Engineering Committee

Dr. James Funk - Scientific Coordinator

NFL Players Association Representatives to the Engineering Committee

Dr. Kristy Arbogast

Dr. Barry Myers

4.4.3.6.tab-six

Dr. Matthew Matava - Chair

Dr. Mitch Berger - Vice Chair

Dr. Dallas Hack

Dr. Richard Hinton

Dr. Timothy McAdams

Dr. Elizabeth Nabel

Dr. Kurt Spindler

4.4.3.7.tab-eight

Dr. Jeff Crandall - Engineering Consultant

Dr. Richard Kent - Engineering Consultant

Dr. Nancy Dreyer - Epidemiologist, QuintilesIMS

Dr. Christina Mack - Epidemiologist, QuintilesIMS

Dr. Lawrence Brown - Drug Policy Advisor

Dr. John Lombardo - Drug Policy Advisor

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4.6.gameday-rules

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4.6.1.content-brief

Game Day Rules

The latest rules changes intended to reduce the risk of injuries

At the 2017 Annual League Meeting in March, NFL clubs voted to make additional rules changes intended to protect the health and safety of players. These recommendations were proposed by NFL clubs and players and analyzed in detail by the NFL Competition Committee, a group that met intensively after the Super Bowl to analyze film, review injury statistics and discuss player safety with physicians, safety experts and advocates, including the NFL medical committees and the NFL Players Association.

AP | Al Messerschmidt Archive

4.6.2.gameday-rules-full

Game Day Rules

The latest rules changes intended to reduce the risk of injuries

At the 2017 Annual League Meeting in March, NFL clubs voted to make additional rules changes intended to protect the health and safety of players. These recommendations were proposed by NFL clubs and players and analyzed in detail by the NFL Competition Committee, a group that met intensively after the Super Bowl to analyze film, review injury statistics and discuss player safety with physicians, safety experts and advocates, including the NFL medical committees and the NFL Players Association.



The League has made 47 health and safety-related rules changes since 2002. Rules changes for the 2017 season include:


Prohibiting the “leaper” block attempt on field goal and extra point plays.

Extending the rule moving the touchback to the 25-yard line for another year.

Giving a receiver running a pass route defenseless player protection.

Prohibiting crackback blocks by a backfield player who is in motion, even if he is not more than two yards outside the tackle when the ball is snapped.



Other Changes Seeking to Better Protect Players:

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4.7.gameday-concussion

Game day Concussion Protocol

The NFL’s concussion protocol is a step-by-step guide for all medical professionals when they are identifying, diagnosing and managing player concussions.

The first version was developed in 2011 by the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee, a board of independent and NFL-affiliated physicians and scientists, including advisors for the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). The concussion protocol is reviewed each year to ensure players are receiving care that reflects the most up-to-date medical consensus on the identification, diagnosis and treatment of concussions.

The 2017 NFL Concussion Diagnosis and Management Protocol and the corresponding “Concussion Game Day Checklist” have been adapted from the 2017 Berlin Conference on Concussion in Sport.

To ensure consistent implementation of the protocol, the NFL and NFLPA have developed an enforcement policy. The NFL and NFLPA follow a strict and fair process to investigate incidents and determine appropriate discipline, including club fines and possible forfeiture of draft picks, for clubs that fail to follow the NFL Game Day Concussion Protocol.

Click here to view the Game Day Concussion Protocol Video

A Guide to the:
NFL’s Concussion Protocol

A game day checklist View Game Day Checklist

AP | Greg Trott

4.8.2.gameday-healthcare-full

Game Day Healthcare: Provider Training Sessions

Strengthening coordination and care on NFL sidelines

Sideline medical professionals—including members of club medical staffs responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of concussion and the UNCs and booth ATC spotters—along with NFL Players Association representatives and League officials met together in New York prior to the season for training sessions.

James Collins, Head Athletic Trainer for the Los Angeles Chargers and President of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS).

The program included remarks from Commissioner Goodell, team physicians, ATCs, game officials, the NFL Players Association and League executives, and covered a variety of topics including changes to the concussion protocol, the new medical sideline tent, and communications systems and reporting tools.

Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer, led the sessions to review the latest protocols and train for the upcoming season.

4.9.team

The Team Behind the Team

An accomplished group of healthcare professionals are on hand at every NFL game

There is a specialized squad of medical professionals, including team physicians and athletic trainers, and unaffiliated medical personnel, that watches the field for potential injuries and is available to provide immediate care to players at every NFL game. In conjunction with the NFL Players Association, the League has updated the sideline medical technology, which now includes tablets with specially designed applications for injury diagnosis. Every club’s medical staff has instant access to their players’ complete medical records via the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system.

AP | Rick Osentoski

4.10.gameday-equipment

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4.10.1.content-brief

Game Day Equipment: Sideline Examination Tents

The debut of an important tool for doctors and trainers to evaluate players after an injury

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/Field%20Tent%20Cutdown%20No%20Music.mp4

4.10.2.scounting-combine-full

Game Day Equipment: Sideline Examination Tents

The debut of an important tool for doctors and trainers to evaluate players after an injury

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/Field%20Tent%20Cutdown%20No%20Music.mp4

The NFL continues to transform its sidelines to help better protect players. New this season, NFL sidelines now feature medical examination tents. The mobile tents can help doctors and trainers immediately evaluate players in private following an injury.

Each unit takes just a few minutes to assemble and requires no special tools. NFL teams are required to position tents either inside a team’s bench area or adjacent to the bench area.

These SidelineER tents have been added in collaboration with the NFL Players Association and approved by both the NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society.

The University of Alabama first used medical examination tents in 2015. Today, SidelineER tents are used by more than 70 college, high school, and professional football teams. They have also been used for other sports, including gymnastics, basketball, golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer and track.


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4.11.reviews

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4.11.1.content-brief

Expert-driven reviews help NFL players make informed decisions

Player Equipment: Helmets

4.11.reviews full

Expert-driven reviews help NFL players make informed decisions

Player Equipment: Helmets

The NFL and NFL Players Association, through their respective biomechanical experts, coordinated laboratory testing on helmets available to be worn by NFL players in advance of the 2017 season. The results are displayed on the NFL/NFLPA 2017 Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance Results Poster and are shared with players, club equipment managers, medical and coaching staffs. This is just one component of an NFL player’s comprehensive assessment when selecting a helmet; other factors include discussions with the team equipment manager and medical staff, as well as helmet fit, player position and the player’s medical history.

The goal of the testing is to determine which helmets best reduced head impact severity under conditions simulating certain potential concussion-causing impacts sustained by NFL players during games, so the conclusions on helmet performance cannot be extrapolated to collegiate, high school or youth football.

This year’s testing involved 33 helmet models available as of March 2017. A survey of helmets used by NFL teams was also conducted to ensure that the helmet models most commonly used by players were included in the testing, including models that have been discontinued but can be reconditioned and worn up to 10 years after the manufacture date. Seven of the 14 helmets in the top-performing group are new this year, including the VICIS Zero1, which was one of three winners in Head Health Challenge II—part of the Head Health Initiative, a four-year, $60 million collaboration between the NFL, GE and Under Armour. Since these helmets have not previously been worn by NFL players, there is no field experience with these designs.

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4.12.helmet-testing

2017 Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance Results

View 2017 Helmet Poster

4.2.overview

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4.13.1.content-brief

Player Equipment: Cleats

“A lot of people don’t realize that the shoe is an important piece of protective equipment. It’s not just about style or performance. A shoe actually takes loads off of the foot so it can protect it.”
Dr. Richard Kent, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/17-040_Cleats_30_ONLINE_01_WEB.mp4

Player Equipment: Cleats

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/17-040_Cleats_30_ONLINE_01_WEB.mp4

“A lot of people don’t realize that the shoe is an important piece of protective equipment. It’s not just about style or performance. A shoe actually takes loads off of the foot so it can protect it.”

Dr. Richard Kent, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia

The NFL’s Musculoskeletal Committee is driving expert reviews of cleats for NFL players. Dr. Richard Kent, a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Emergency Medicine at The University of Virginia and Principal Scientist and Consultant for Biocore LLC, leads an annual evaluation of cleats to evaluate the flexion of the cleat, to try to protect from injuries like turf toe, as well as cleat-to-turf evaluations to see how much traction there is under linear and rotational motion.

There are also efforts underway to help NFL players choose not just the best-performing shoe, but also the shoe that’s the right size and the right shape. New laser scanners will soon be found in all NFL locker rooms to scan feet. This kind of fitting procedure can optimize performance in terms of safety.

AP | Jack Dempsey

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4.14.commitment

A Commitment to Former Players

The League is committed to supporting its players—whether rookies, veterans or retired greats—through a lifetime of health and opportunity beyond football.

Healthcare, education and career benefits are offered to players and their loved ones by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association. Eligible former players receive support throughout their lives from a range of resources tailored to promote their long-term well-being. These include:

The NFL Player Care Foundation

Established in 2007, the NFL Player Care Foundation (PCF) is an independent organization dedicated to helping retired players improve their quality of life. PCF addresses all aspects of life by providing programs and assistance with medical, emotional, financial, social and community issues: http://www.nflplayercare.com

conclusion

“We are eager to continue our ongoing commitment to support former players through a variety of programs, from pension and other post-retirement financial benefits to life insurance and savings plans to health benefits and counseling services.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
AP | Aaron M. Sprecher

5.1.chapter-introduction

Sharing Progress

The NFL is sharing learnings across all levels of football—and to other sports and society at large.

5.2.overview

5.2.1.content-brief

Overview

The NFL’s commitment to player health and safety spans all levels and all sports. The knowledge that is gained at the professional level to improve safety, when applicable, must be applied at all levels and beyond football. Across the country, the NFL and its various partners, including USA Football, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Korey Stringer Institute, and the Professional Football Athletic Trzainers Society, are sharing best practices and recommendations with coaches, parents and players about contact restrictions, safety protocols and the importance of athletic trainers on the sidelines.

AP | Larry French
"The NFL is committed to enhancing the safety of football at all levels."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

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5.2.1.content-brief

Community Touchpoints: More Athletic Trainers

Expanding student athletes’ access to an important resource

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/17-040_AthleticTrainer_30_ONLINE_02_WEB.mp4

Community Touchpoints: More Athletic Trainers

Expanding student athletes’ access to an important resource

Financial realities mean many schools do not have access to an athletic trainer. Nearly two-thirds of high schools lack a full-time athletic trainer, and nearly 30 percent have no athletic trainer at all, according to the AT Benchmark Study released by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI).

The NFL Foundation is addressing this need. In 2014, the NFL Foundation established a grant program designed to work with NFL clubs to increase access to athletic trainers in their communities. To date, 22 NFL clubs have utilized this grant to support local schools and leagues. Last year, the NFL Foundation—with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Gatorade—expanded this effort through a contest open to high schools nationwide. 15 high schools received funding to hire an athletic trainer.

Video: https://d38nkjbr1k3bs7.cloudfront.net/17-040_AthleticTrainer_30_ONLINE_02_WEB.mp4

Most recently, the NFL Foundation, in collaboration with Gatorade, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Korey Stringer Institute and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society announced a pilot program to award grants to public high schools in four states—Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma and Oregon. Each grant is in the amount of $35,000, awarded over a three-year period to fund an athletic training program. 75 schools received this grant to enhance sports health and safety for student athletes this year.

4 states participating

Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma and Oregon

75
grants

for public high schools

$35,000 in grant funding

awarded over a three-year period

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Community Touchpoints: USA Football

Four years ago, USA Football—supported by a $45 million grant from the NFL Foundation—launched Heads Up Football, an educational outreach program that aims to improve player safety for youth and high school players.

Heads Up Football strives to improve player safety for youth and high school players by training and certifying coaches on safety fundamentals; teaching proper tackling and blocking techniques; appointing Player Safety Coaches for every youth league to enforce safety protocols; ensuring proper equipment fitting; and teaching coaches, parents and players how to recognize and respond to injuries, including concussions.

USA Football’s Heads Up Football program eclipsed 10,000 youth league and high school enrollments for the first time in 2017, marking an important milestone in the sport's commitment to player safety.

Heads Up Football (HUF)


leadership_5.5

Preeminent leadership for the governing body of amateur football

Retired Army General and Former Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno was named the new chairman of USA Football this year.

At the organization’s 2017 national conference, he challenged attendees to “be part of a new wave of encouraging and talking about football, and what it brings to the local community and what it means to our nation—a smarter, safer game with the same competitive spirit which we have come to love about this game.”

The USA Football National Conference was held during Pro Bowl week in Orlando, FL, for the first time. This year, beyond in-game strategies, the conference aimed to empower coaches and other youth football leaders as they implement top safety recommendations for their teams and programs.

“I owe a lot to this game,” he said. “Football developed in me the characteristics and the fortitude that I needed. But just as important, it gave me an opportunity I never would have had, to attend the United States Military Academy.”
Ray Odierno
Retired Army General and Former Army Chief of Staff

The National Football League Foundation

The NFL Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those touched by the game of football—from its players at all levels to communities across the country. The NFL Foundation represents the 32 NFL clubs. It makes grants directed at supporting the health, safety and wellness of athletes, youth football and the communities that support the game.

Improved fields in underserved areas

In 2016, the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program, a partnership between the NFL Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, provided grants to 17 cities to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of football fields in underserved areas. Grants totaled $3,050,000 to build or refurbish neighborhood football fields.

Since 1998, the NFL Foundation has provided $55 million to revitalize 482 fields for youth athletics.


Grants totaled $3,050,000 to build or refurbish neighborhood football fields.

Since 1998, the NFL Foundation has provided $55 million to revitalize 482 fields for youth athletics.



conclusion

“There is no higher priority for the NFL than player health and safety. We continually seek to raise our standards and then surpass them.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
AP | Scott Boehm