In what appears to be a good sign of due diligence, reports of concussions sustained by NFL players are up 21% over the 2009 season. The league is touting this data as evidence that teams and players are taking concussions more seriously than in seasons past. However, there may be more to it than just an increase in “reporting”.
The NFL has focused its attention this season on helmet-to-helmet hits, fining several players as much as $25,000 per infraction. In fact, Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison has already been dinged for $125,000, a sum that even top-notch NFL players consider more than just beer and pizza money. It’s possible that the league can’t ignore what most fans have been talking about for years. Players continue to get bigger, stronger and faster. The potential for devastating, long-term injury hits grows every season. The league knows that unless it finds a way to put the kibosh on the more egregious infractions, the careers of many promising players might be cut short and the league’s long term health insurance premiums will start looking more like the US trade deficit. Though the NFL doesn’t want to admit it, part of that 21% increase is likely due to more than just better reporting.
[Source: Yidio]
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[...] an interesting side-note, Harrison was fined a record $125,000 by the NFL for illegal hits during the 2010 [...]