We have no idea how dangerous football really is

Is there a scientific case for banning the sport?

 Football May Take a Toll on the Brain, Even Without Concussions

The brains of college football players showed signs of “fraying” after a season of play.

 How to Save Football Players’ Brains

One simple rule change would solve much of the problem: Require the linemen to stand up.

 Is football bad for the brain? We know little about the long-term effects of concussions

Awareness about concussions has never been greater among high school athletes and coaches, thanks to the spotlight shone on some former NFL players who’ve experienced problems later in life. But a downside to this heightened awareness is the fear it has sown among parents that their children who play sports like football, soccer, or hockey may end up the same way. As a parent, I understand that fear.

 Poor Students More Likely To Play Football, Despite Brain Injury Concerns

Fears of brain injuries has deterred many parents and their children from choosing to play football. After years of publicity about how dangerous football can be, football enrollment has declined 6.6 percent in the past decade, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Those who still play the sport are increasingly low-income students.

 Youth tackle football will be considered unthinkable 50 years from now

I would know — I’m a CTE expert and former college football player.

Football will keep killing players until we change the way it’s played

At this point, we know football is unsafe. Study after study has come out in recent years solidifying the undeniable link between years of playing football—and the hits to the head that entails—to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Helmets have long been the ostensible bulwark against debilitating head injuries for football players. But, clearly, the ones we have aren’t working.

The NFL's Helmet Tests Are Brainless

Opinion: Current testing on helmets ignores the kinds of impacts that cause most of the concussions. It’s time for football to wise up.

‘Safe’ Helmets Can’t Fix Football’s Concussion Problem

Experts say the technology won't work unless players change their behavior.

A study, with some limitations, sees link between youth football and emotional issues in adulthood

Youth football participation in the U.S. has dropped in recent years as parents have grown more concerned about concussions. A new study could accelerate that trend. The research, by noted brain trauma scientists, found that those who play youth tackle football before age 12 are more likely to suffer from depression, apathy, and other behavioral issues later in life.

A Very Conflicted Football Fan’s Notes

The game is changing and I feel bad for kids who will never know what it feels like to make a big hit or score a game-winning touchdown. Once when I was 10, both happened. I ran down the sideline and just as I approached the goal line, I was hit so hard I blacked out. I awoke on the sideline to see Coach and asked, “Did I get in?” He smiled and said: “Yeah, kiddo. You scored.” The pain disappeared as the team lifted me to the sky.

Changes In Brain Scans Seen After A Single Season Of Football For Young Players

"Everybody wants to know, 'Should my kid play football? Should my kid play soccer? Should my kid play ice hockey?' And we say, 'Can we please study this and understand it?' " says Gioia, who has been pushing for funding for more long-term studies into youth and sports. For now, he says, they still have a lot of unanswered questions.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy & Football

Football has one of the highest injury rates of any sport and often leaves players with life-altering, career ending disabilities including CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Concussion Epidemic Is Existential Threat To Football

The damage from head injuries in football becomes more obvious each passing year.

Does Playing Football Make You Violent? Examining The Evidence

You can't draw a straight line between players who are known to abuse their partners and a record of football head injuries. At this point, that data is incomplete, partly because NFL concussion data is so piecemeal. But neurologists have repeatedly found a neurobiological link in individuals who commit repeated acts of violence.

Even a single season of high school football might have harmful impacts on the brain

The most recent, most disturbing finding about CTE is the mounting evidence that mild, routine hits — which present no immediate symptoms and are generally categorized as sub-­concussions, rather than concussions — might also lead to CTE.

Football Alters the Brains of Kids as Young as 8

In the journal Radiology today, an imaging study shows that players ages 8 to 13 who have had no concussion symptoms still show changes associated with traumatic brain injury.

Football helmets don’t prevent concussions. What can?

Researchers have known for years that helmets actually don’t do a great job of preventing concussions. In fact, most researchers agree they could actually have the opposite effect: wearing a helmet, studies suggest, can often make athletes more likely to use their heads as a weapon.

Football’s Concussion Crisis Is Killing Former High School Players, Too

Everyone knows about the NFL’s association with brain injury. But people who never get there also face a very real threat.

Football’s True Believers Circle the Wagons and Insist the Sport Is Just Fine

Fearful that football could turn into boxing, a once-popular sport that fell off the media map, USA Football, and the N.F.L. are now pushing flag football as a safe way to get children to play some version of the game.

Friday Night Lights Out: The Case for Abolishing High School Football

A Nevada school board candidate wants to eliminate high school football, and a handful of others are making a medical, ethical, and financial case against America's favorite prep sport. Their arguments are unpopular. But are they right?

How football is trying to tackle the growing issue of players' mental health

Footballers are more likely to suffer from mental health issues than the general population. This is what people in the game are trying to do about the problem

How Tracking Football Players Can Help Reduce Injuries

Shiffman looks forward to a future where everyone embraces the world of athlete analytics. North America lags far behind the rest of the world in adopting new technology, as there are leagues worldwide that already substitute in-game based on real-time analytics. Most North American leagues won’t even allow analytics in the game. The future will change that.

I Quit The NFL But Have Hope For Football’s Future

I’ve come to realize my experiences may enable me to help others find solutions to the game’s safety issues. Still, I’ve struggled to find my place in the ongoing debate as someone who appreciates nuance, but lives in a binary “anti” or “pro” football world. Folks who blithely disregard the benefits of football likely haven’t played or are being intellectually dishonest.

Is Football to Blame for Players' Suicides?

The issue of professional football's responsibility for these conditions and player suicides is explored in Headstrong, a play...

Is Football Too Violent For Our Youth?

You don’t need to be a parent to worry about the risks of youth football or to see the important life lessons the sport can teach children. Where do you stand? Check out these illustrated pros and cons of Pee Wee football.

Is Football Worth Gambling With High School And College Players' Brains?

Every individual with CTE in the study—including the high school and college students—had at least one mood, behavior or cognitive symptom. The positions with the greatest proportion of CTE were offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs.

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be a Cowboy or a Canuck

Football is an exciting, violent sport. And, no offense to the Aussies and Canadians, so is rugby and hockey. Head related injuries have always been part of the game. But do they need to?

NFL Players Die Young. Or Maybe They Live Long Lives

The leaders of the NFL have behaved atrociously, and they’ve been worse than inattentive to the safety of players and their families. But the sport they represent isn’t killing its employees. It’s not abusing women. It isn’t adding to the sum total of human suffering. If you have a chance to play in the NFL, you should probably take it.

Not Safe for Children? Football’s Leaders Make Drastic Changes to Youth Game

U.S.A. Football began exploring new ways to play the game in 2015. Unlike sports like baseball — which has a progression of levels, from T-ball up, suited to each age group — football had few alternatives to the flag and tackle versions. The new format, called modified tackle, is a way to give nervous parents an alternative.

Poll Finds 40% Would Sway Children Away From Football

There is little difference in how much men and women, or parents and nonparents, worry about football-related brain trauma. But there are big disparities among income brackets and educational background.

The Future of Detecting Brain Damage in Football

A new technique could revolutionize how a neurodegenerative disease afflicting contact sports is treated.

The Most Dangerous Game

Is baseball really more hazardous to players’ health than football?

The Quest for a Better Football Helmet

The NFL is now getting involved in equipment innovation in a way that hasn’t really been seen in professional sports.

The Science of Pro Football

In a special partnership with NBC Learn, we present additional information for the video series, "The Science of NFL Football"

The Uncertain Future of High School Football in America

The country wrestles with how to keep Friday Night Lights alive.

Watching Football: Good Or Bad For Your Health?

But is watching football actually good or bad for your health? Well, like a pass up the middle, watching football has some risks but if you handle it correctly you could catch a number of benefits.

We Asked NCAA Football Players Why They’re Not Scared of Brain Damage

Even though every piece of research linking concussion to their potential next step—the NFL—is terrifying.

What a lifetime of playing football can do to the human brain

Six things to know about the NFL, concussions, and brain damage.

Why Football Must Get Safer

If new rules aren't enough to protect players, the game could fade away. Parents will increasingly keep kids out of the sport rather than expose them to the risk.

With All We Know About Concussions, Why Do We Still Love Football?

We know repeatedly getting hit in the head is dangerous, so why do we keep doing it in the name of football?

CTE & Football

Football has one of the highest injury rates of any sport and often leaves players with life-altering, career ending disabilities including CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy