Injuries In National Football League Prospects & Longevity By Position In The NFL

PURPOSE & METHODS: To examine the relationship between professional football player longevity, player position, and injury history, we evaluated orthopedic injuries and health-related conditions in 100 top prospects tested at the 2004 Indianapolis NFL Combine. Five yr later we tracked participation by analyzing NFL Players' Association rosters and calculated longevity for the entire league based on players' positions. RESULTS: Seventy-two of 100 Combine players had 227 football injuries and 54 surgeries or 2.3 injuries and 0.5 surgeries per person for the entire group. The most prevalent anatomical sites of injury were the shoulder (26%), knee (25%), lower back (10%), neck (8%), foot (7%), and ankle (7%). Most common diagnoses were tears (24%), dislocations/subluxations (18%), loose bodies/repetitive trauma (12%), fractures (12%), and sprains (11%). Injury locations and diagnoses were shaped by position: offensive lineman had more back and neck injuries, linebackers more shoulder injuries. Injury number and severity was linked to playing at large institutions that commonly place high in national collegiate rankings. Despite their youthfulness, 9% of prospects had documented degenerative joint disease as confirmed by x-rays and MRIs. Other conditions included asthma, hypertension, sickle cell anemia and thyroid dysfunction. For the 2008 NFL season, 39% of 2004 Combine players were still active. For 1889 players listed on 32 NFL team rosters, the average longevity was 4.6 yr, with only 7% of players having > 10 yr experience. Four of 5 players with the greatest longevity (> 18 yr) were punters or kickers (the other, a rare quarterback). Our first analyses indicated that no orthopedic or health-related variables were remarkable in predicting longevity. CONCLUSIONS: Longevity was more associated with position than prior injury history with special teams players like punters, kickers & long snappers having the longest careers. Though examining additional physical and performance variables may prove helpful in predicting non-special teams players' longevity, factors such as team productivity and needs for a specific position, and intrinsic player and coaching variables must be considered. Research should track the long-term effects of football participation on mobility, health, fitness, and lifespan.