Abstract
Objectives:
The primary goal of this study was to assess the short-term outcomes among National Football League (NFL) players following concussion in terms of: (1) DNP protocol activation, (2) release rate at one and three years, and (3) mean salary reduction. A secondary goal of the study was to stratify the post-concussive release rate by franchise and player position.
Methods:
NFL player transaction records and publicly available weekly injury reports from August 2005 to January 2016 for NFL players were analyzed. All players immediately sustaining recorded concussions were evaluated for a change to inactive or do-not-play (DNP) status. The one-year and three-year release rate following concussion was defined as any player transitioning to inactivation, retirement, free agency, or any failure to return for a successive season on the same team’s active roster after one or three years from the initial concussion. Student’s t-test was used to compare release rates between non-concussed and concussed players at one and three years. Mean salary reduction per year following concussion was calculated using publicly available player contracts. Additionally, franchise-level and position-based analyses of the release rate were performed.
Results:
Of the total 5,451 NFL players retrospectively analyzed over the 11-year period, 373 sustained publicly reported concussions resulting in DNP protocol activation. The release rate of the post-concussive versus non-concussive player was 26% vs. 20% at 1 year (p<0.01) and 31% vs. 19% at 3 years (p<0.01). After analyzing individual player contracts, the mean year-over-year change in contract value for concussed players after DNP protocol activation was an overall salary reduction of $760,000/year ± $2,380,000. Figure 1 depicts the tendency of each NFL franchise to release an athlete following concussion within one and three years. Table 1 reports a position-based analysis in terms of concussion rate, mean salary reduction, and NFL career longevity.
Conclusion:
Our retrospective study demonstrates that NFL concussions resulting in DNP protocol activation leads to a statistically greater release rate among concussed NFL players than non-concussed players. Released players suffered reduction in year-over-year accumulated earnings, and particular franchises tended to release concussed players more than others.
Position-based Concussion Statistics of Players by DNP Activation, Salary Reduction, Career Length
Position Group
DNP Concussions
Mean Salary Reduction ($/yr)
Average Career Length (yrs)
DB
75 (20.1%)
280,000
7.0
WR
66 (17.7%)
1,760,000
7.3
OL
49 (13.1%)
1,190,000
5.5
TE
46 (12.3%)
333,000
7.7
RB
40 (10.7%)
140,000
5.1
LB
39 (10.5%)
720,000
4.9
DL
31 (8.3%)
540,000
7.0
QB
27 (7.2%)
2,440,000
7.3
Total
373
760,000
6.4