Concussions in American football Player safety in American football has been a major controversial subject over the years , with the main concern being concussion s , a type of traumatic brain injury that have been purported to be one of the influences for player suicide s and other symptoms after retirement including memory loss and depression . In 2007 , the National Football League conducted a study consisting of more than 2 , 500 retired NFL players , which revealed that the players who have had at least three concussions during their playing careers would have tripled the risk of depression . Five years after the NFL ' s study , the Canadian Football League conducted a study with six CFL players , and later found chronic traumatic encephalopathy ( CTE ) in three of the players . In 2012 , a study revealed players have triple the risk of having neurodegenerative diseases than the general population . While there have been efforts made to try to decrease the number of head injuries , according to Dr . Kevin M . Guskiewicz , there are about 300 , 000 sports related concussions every single year . Also , after sampling 4251 football players , of those who suffered from a concussions , 6 . 5 % suffered another concussion during the same exact season . According to another study done by University of North Carolina showed that 31 % of concussed athletes rushed immediately back onto the field after injury . This is showing that far too many times , players are being rushed back to the field too quickly . Concussions in the National Football League . The NFL has been cracking down on concussions , with the league being more strict on player sanctions after Roger Goodell took over as league commissioner . The new policy expands the symptoms experienced by players suffering from concussions . In , the league prevented players who were knocked unconscious by a concussion from returning to a game or practice , a policy that applied to Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best in . Various players have filed lawsuits against the league for the concussions , accusing the league of hiding information that linked head trauma to permanent brain damage , Alzheimer ' s disease , and dementia . Some teams have passed on various players in the NFL Draft due to their past concussion history . According to an " Outside the Lines " report , the HIT System was in question by the league , although University of North Carolina professor Kevin Guskiewicz said that the system is functionable in the league . However , former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and current NBC Sports analyst Hines Ward stated that the use of the system would be " opening a Pandora ' s Box " , and that the data recorded by the system could be used by team owners to give players lower salaries . In November 2011 , the Cleveland Clinic Center for Spine Health created an online study that was released by the " Journal of Neurosurgery " in which various football helmet s were compared with each other via crash test dummies . It was later found that leather helmets provided similar results to modern helmets , and in some cases , the leather helmets proved to have superior protection against concussive blows . However , the leather helmets did not provide as much protection against skull fractures . In April 2011 , Ray Easterling , Jim McMahon and 5 other players filed a lawsuit against the league over its handling of concussions , and one year later , Easterling was found dead in his home by a gunshot wound . Two months prior , Bears safety Dave Duerson committed suicide , and his autopsy reviewed that he had suffered from brain damage . In April 2012 , a group of former Dallas Cowboys , consisting of Pro Football Hall of Fame players Randy White , Bob Lilly , and Rayfield Wright , joined other retired players in filing a lawsuit against the league , and accusing it of ignoring a link between concussions and brain injury . A month later , after the suicide of linebacker Junior Seau , concerns arose over the connection between player deaths and concussions . Neurosurgeon Julian Bailes has identified CTE in the autopsies of players Mike Webster , Terry Long , Justin Strzelczyk , Andre Waters , and Chris Henry . In June 2012 , a group of lawyers of 2 , 138 players have planned to file one single lawsuit against the league . According to an " Associated Press " report , over 80 lawsuits have been consolidated by the league . As of mid - August 2012 , the number of players involved increased to 3 , 402 . In August 2012 , the league sued three dozen insurance companies in an attempt to force them to cover the costs of defending claims of not protecting players . However , Travelers ultimately sued the league on August 21 in a lawsuit called " Discover Property & Casualty Co . et al . vs . National Football League et al . , New York State Supreme Court , New York County , No . 652933 / 2012 . " The company provided liability coverage for the league ' s merchandising arm ( NFL Properties ) , and the insurer also pointed out that the abovementioned lawsuit has allegedly 14 counts against the league , while only two against NFL Properties . After quarterbacks Jay Cutler , Michael Vick , and Alex Smith sustained concussions in Week 10 of the 2012 season , the NFLPA plans to have independent neurologists at games . On February 3 , 2013 , it was reported that the NFL and General Electric have partnered on a five - year $ 50 million project to develop technology that can predict brain injuries , show its severity and the rate of recovery , along with creating more protective material . Concussions in college football . The NCAA , like the NFL , has been criticized for its handling of concussions , with numerous players having retired from football due to concussions , or have filed lawsuits against the association for failing to protect student - athletes from concussions . In 2011 , former players Derek Owens and Alex Rucks filed lawsuits against the association for failing to cover the players ' safety . Both Owens and Rucks claimed that they had suffered brain trauma which could have been prevented . In 2012 , the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conference began work on preventing concussions , and appointed University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones to evaluate and review existing research and various diagnoses from past analyses . In 2009 , an NCAA panel created and recommended a rule that prevents an athlete from returning to a game after he / she has sustained a concussion . The panel also had recommended for an athlete to be sidelined after any concussion - related injury until he / she has been cleared by a doctor . Concussions in other leagues . Canadian Football League . In the 2010 season for the Canadian Football League , there have been 50 reported concussions ; 44 . 8 percent of players reported having a concussion or concussion - like symptoms , 16 . 9 percent had confirmed that they had a concussion , and 69 . 6 percent of all players who suffered from concussions that year suffered from more than one . However , the average of 0 . 59 concussions per game is lower than the 0 . 67 recorded by the NFL in 2010 . The league eventually started a concussion - awareness program with the help of Football Canada , Canadian Interuniversity Sport ( CIS ) , the Canadian School Sport Federation , the Canadian Football League Players Association ( CFLPA ) , the Canadian Football League Alumni Association ( CFLAA ) , and the ThinkFirst program . The league eventually pointed out eight protocols : In 2012 , ThinkFirst founder and Toronto Western Hospital neurosurgeon Charles Tator led a study that was conducted by the University of Toronto , which examined the brains of 20 former players with a history of concussions , and compared them to 20 other players without a history of head injury . A separate group of 20 without football experience served as a control group . Also in 2012 , the league and Tator announced a partnership to work in a study that would perform postmortem tests on former CFL players to look for signs of CTE . Arena Football League . In the Arena Football League , despite the league ' s intense play , very few lawsuits have been filed for concussions . The most notable lawsuit against the league was a lawsuit filed by former Colorado Crush kicker Clay Rush in 2010 , who claimed that he suffered from permanent brain damage due to repeated blows to the head during games . Like the NFL , the AFL prohibits players who suffered from concussions from practicing . In 2008 , during the original league ' s final season , the " Shockometer " made its debut at two season - opening games ( Dallas Desperados vs . Georgia Force / San Jose SaberCats vs . Chicago Rush ) on 40 player helmets . The device is projected to sell for $ 30 if it is to become available on the market . The players that were given the device play positions that are suspectible to hard hits , such as wide receivers , defensive backs , running backs and linebackers . AFL Players Association regional director James Guidry stated that the red light doesn ' t mean that the player has a concussion , but as a warning for team examiners to inspect the player . Guidry also said that the device could be used to prevent players who don ' t want to show any signs of weakness after sustaining any concussion - like symptoms from continuing to play . Prevention efforts . Many efforts have been made to prevent concussions , such as a device created by Schutt Sports during the Arena Football League ' s 2008 season called the " Shockometer " , which was triangle - shaped with an adhesive on a side that sticks to players ' helmets . When a player gets hit by a g - force which exceeds 98 , a capsule with a green light in it will change to a red light . Doctors have determined that a g - force of approximately 100 will increase the risk of a concussion , even though a quarterback that gets sacked would normally register a g - force of 150 g . However , a possible flaw to the Shockometer is that fan activity could accidentally trigger the device . Riddell created the Head Impact Telemetry System ( HITS ) and Sideline Response System ( SRS ) to help record the frequency and severity of player impacts during practices and games . On every HITS helmet features MX Encoders , which would automatically record every hit . Eight NFL teams had planned to use the system in the season , but the NFL Players Association ultimately blocked its use . While companies related to sports have taken action in combating concussions , the rest of the country has tried to do their part as well . The country has gotten Congress to make sure that there are public - service announcements on head injuries and their detrimental effects . Also , the NFL is now meeting with the brain injuries committee to see how they can find ways to keep players on the field , and concussions off . In 2013 , Reebok developed the Head Impact Indicator , which is a quarter - sized device placed on a player ' s skull , which activates a red / yellow light if the player is hit too hard .