Is football the most dangerous sport in America? (2024)

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field of Paycor Stadium on January 2 was a stunning reminder of how fragile life is, even for elite athletes, bringing silence, tears, and prayers from fans and players alike.

While the Buffalo Bills' star safety's close call is far from the football norm, football players routinely face injuries, many of them serious.

That’s why social media is routinely filled with claims that football is "the most dangerous sport in America.”

As the country prayed for Hamlin, one person on Twitter wrote, “Football is a brutal game.” Players will tell you, helmets and pads don’t often protect players from some of the worst concussive forces encountered on the field.

Scrolling down the list of hundreds of NFL players who are injured or placed on injured reserve status is a stark reminder of how rough football can be.

That’s why the results of some of the latest research on injuries in sports are may surprise you.

VISITS TO THE ER

Andrew Gillen, a managing partner at a personal injury law firm in California, and his team analyzed 2021 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and concluded that basketball is the most dangerous sport in America.

The story concentrated on the worst injuries which send athletes to emergency rooms, finding 2,823 basketball players were sent to the ER in 2021, compared to 1,719 football players.

Soccer (1,289), baseball (347), and boxing (247) round out the top five on Gillen’s list.

EXERCISE AND BICYCLES TOP THE INJURY LIST

The Insurance Information Institute used statistics compiled by the National Safety Council to reveal that the top two sports injuries are caused by exercise and exercise equipment, and bicycles and accessories. Together, these two accounted for more than 785,000 injuries in 2021.

Basketball led the list of organized team sports on the list, coming in at Number Three overall with 259,779 injuries.

Football was Number Six on the list with 222,086 injuries.

MOST DANGEROUS SPORTS FOR STUDENTS

Finally, quotewizard.com crunched the numbers of injuries for students and published its article “Most Dangerous Sports for Students.”

While it found football has the most injuries (149,149) involving children under 15 years old, it placed basketball at the top of the list for 15-24-year-olds, with 185,316 injuries, and an injury rate of 432.5 per 100,000 players.

Football came in a distant second for 15-24-year-olds with 116,946 injuries and an injury rate of 272.9 per 100,000.

In the same article, football doesn’t even top the list of sports for percentage of concussion-related injuries, tying lacrosse for fourth place, just behind water tubing.

FOOTBALL IS NOT THE MOST DANGEROUS SPORT IN AMERICA

While much of the focus of football continues to be on the dangers of playing it, it’s important to provide some context.

So, as surprising as it sounds, if you claim football is the most dangerous sport in America, you’re wrong.

Is football the most dangerous sport in America? (2024)

FAQs

Is football considered the most dangerous sport? ›

Football is generally considered to be one of the most dangerous sports due to the physical contact involved. Players can experience serious injuries such as concussions, fractures, and spinal cord injuries. Additionally, football players are at risk for long-term brain damage due to repeated head trauma.

What is the #1 dangerous sport? ›

BASE jumping is the deadliest extreme sport in the world. The acronym BASE stands for the four fixed objects from which a BASE jumper can jump: buildings, antenna (radio masts), spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).

Is football a high risk sport? ›

Football is a contact sport that involves a lot of physical contact, making it a high-risk sport. Some of the risks associated with playing football include: 1. Concussions: Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain is jolted or shaken inside the skull.

What's more dangerous, football or basketball? ›

Basketball has the most injuries overall, but the number of injuries varies with each age group. Football is the most dangerous sport for children ages 5 to 14, while basketball has the highest number of injuries among people ages 15 to 24.

Is NFL too dangerous? ›

It's not necessarily controversial to say that football is a dangerous sport. We know that it often causes long-term harm to its players, some of which can only be truly understood after their deaths. Risks to players' health include concussions, traumatic brain injuries, arthritis, and potentially cardiac events.

What is the most violent sport in America? ›

Andrew Gillen, a managing partner at a personal injury law firm in California, and his team analyzed 2021 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and concluded that basketball is the most dangerous sport in America.

What is #1 sport? ›

1) Soccer / Association Football:

Regional Popularity: Europe, Africa, Asia, America. Few things can rival football as a spectator sport and participation level. In the last FIFA global census, 265 million people played the sport, with 5 million referees.

What sport is more dangerous, football or soccer? ›

American football is generally considered to be a more dangerous sport than soccer due to the high level of physical contact involved, including tackling and blocking, which can result in injuries such as concussions, spinal cord injuries, and fractures.

Is football safe or not? ›

Tackle football, particularly at a youth level, comes with inherent risks of injury, including concussions, sprains, fractures, and more. Many medical professionals and organizations have raised concerns about the safety of tackle football, especially for children and adolescents.

Is football getting safer? ›

Have advances in technology made the equipment better and safer for the players to use? Yes, 100%. Helmet technology is better, medical work is better, rehabilitation from injury is better, sport training is better. There is more ability to keep people from getting hurt.

What are the cons of football? ›

The cons of youth football

Players are at risk of injuries, including concussions, sprains, strains, fractures and dislocations. The physical nature of the sport can lead to both acute injuries and overuse injuries.

Is NFL more dangerous than boxing? ›

Boxers deliver punches with proportionately more rotational than translational acceleration than in football concussion. Boxing punches have a 65 mm effective radius from the head cg, which is almost double the 34 mm in football. A smaller radius in football prevents the helmets from sliding off each other in a tackle.

What is the safer sport than football? ›

Analysis: Boys and girls tennis emerged as the safest sports, with very few overall injuries, concussions, time loss due to injuries, surgeries, and catastrophic injuries. Not surprisingly, several contact sports (football, boys and girls lacrosse, wrestling) scored near the bottom.

What sport has the most head injuries? ›

Concussions occur in all sports with the highest incidence in American football, ice hockey, rugby, soccer, and basketball. In addition to concussions caused by a single severe impact, multiple minor impacts may also cause brain injury.

Is football more dangerous than combat sports? ›

However, in actuality, American football happens to be more dangerous than MMA because of repeated major head trauma and the possibility of intense injuries. Every fighter should expect to get injured at some point in their career.

Is football more violent than soccer? ›

American football is generally considered to be a more dangerous sport than soccer due to the high level of physical contact involved, including tackling and blocking, which can result in injuries such as concussions, spinal cord injuries, and fractures.

Is football safer than ever? ›

Concussion prevention and care is better now than it has ever been, but short of ending all sports, we need to do more to prevent them. This means improvements in equipment, better training for coaches and players, and better medical care.

Is football safer than other sports? ›

Key Characteristics: Football has the highest injury and concussion rates among all sports, regardless of gender, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. Injuries to the head/face, ankle, knee and hand/wrist are the most common.

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