Sports

Average Lifespan of a Football Player is 52

by Jon Azpiri | November 20, 2008 at 12:01 pm

6267 views | 12 Recommendations | 2 comments

An upcoming CBC report highlighting health problems faced by pro football players has brought to light an astonishing statistic: the average lifespan of a football lineman is 52.

With the NFL approaching the end of the season and CFL's Grey Cup taking place this Sunday, the news comes as a sobering reminder of the high price that football players pay to play the game they love.

Studies in the United States show that men who play five or more years in the NFL have a life expectancy of 55, 20 years less than the average in the general public. For linemen, perhaps due to their size, the life expectancy is 52.

Several factors come into play including diet and physical wear-and-tear. The biggest problem, however, appears to be head injuries.

Earlier this year, a group of NFL players donated their brains to science for a concussion study. The study will be conducted by Boston University in conjunction with the Sports Legacy Institute, founded by Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu.

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Barry Campbell (not verified)

at 08:44 on November 23rd, 2008

I agree that head injuries in sports are not appreciated as a significant health risk factor. Likely head injuries are more devastating than steroid use.

Paradoxically the thing that would better protect from head injuries would be having players have to play without helmets. Without a helmet players would not be able to tackle and block in the devastating manner they now do and the impact to the head would be markedly reduced.