NFL and Safety: Why the Game Must Evolve or Face the Government

As we continue to mourn the tragic suicide of a football legend, we must also accept a fact of change. Junior Seau’s death will become a catalyst of change in the NFL. I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I know it is going to happen.

During his term as NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell has made it a focal point of his administration to "make football safer." I don’t necessarily believe that this is true—I think he wants to give the appearance that he is making the game safer, giving lip service to change because of the money at stake with TV contracts.

If Mr. Goodell really cared about the safety of the players, he would not be pushing for an 18-game season and would even reduce the number of preseason scrimmage games that the NFL has.

If Mr. Goodell was really concerned with safety, he would pull NFL involvement from any videos or specials with titles like "Bone-Crushing Hits" or "Most Savage Tacklers."

If Mr. Goodell was really concerned with safety, he would not be selling photos of James Harrison decapitating Joe Flacco the day after Harrison is levied a huge fine for making a legal hit.

If Mr. Goodell truly cared about player safety, he would be doing much, much more to pay for insurance for former players who are suffering from broken-down bodies and brains turning into oatmeal.

Mr. Goodell is not doing any of this—he is simply paying lip service to safety because of all the dollars at stake.

This is why Junior Seau’s death, beyond the sorrow felt by family and fans, will have a long-term effect on the NFL. More than Dave Duerson, Shane Dronett, Terry Long, Andre Waters, Ray Easterling or any other player who has paid the ultimate sacrifice to the gods of football, Junior Seau was a huge star.

He was good looking, beloved by many all over the country, was soon to be a member of the Hall of Fame, was influential to today’s stars and he was young, only 43. For the most part, everyone else on this list was in their 50s or older, and were not superstars like Junior. What Junior’s death did was open everyone’s eyes to the fact that this could happen to anyone—a star or the 53rd player, HOFer or scrub, old or young.

The reason Goodell is giving so much lip service to safety is because of lawsuits, TV contracts and sponsorship. He must be seen as caring about safety, so when the lawsuits come—and believe me they will—he will be able to show how he is taking steps to try to protect players by levying fines and making the game safer.

If he does not make these moves, the lawsuits to follow—now that lawyers have a beautiful body, young and in prime shape and health, to show to juries and the NFL—will be giving lots of money to the plaintiffs. And after the first round of lawsuits is over with, you will have the potential to see wrongful death lawsuits because the NFL didn't do enough to educate and protect players from damage to the brain.

With Junior’s suicide, the issue of safety is now in the minds of those beyond football fans. His suicide is going to be noted by lawyers representing former players in class-action lawsuits that state the NFL failed to properly warn them about the dangers of concussions.

It will also be noted by the government, which would simply love to exert its power of the NFL and receive some attention-grabbing headlines. Not to mention the notes taken by sponsors and TV executives who, although they love being associated with the NFL, could potentially pull their sponsorship if public opinion is swayed to the safety of the players.

Finally, we the fans are going to take notice. Some of us will tune out the NFL because they are playing "flag football" and are all weaklings, and others of us will lose interest because of overexposure due to the concussion issue. Those of us who remain will wonder who will be the next to fall victim to the gods of football and how their payment to those gods will be collected.

Despite the fact that football players are not actually super heroes, the fans and the media portray them as such, and they gladly and willingly step into that role. Athletes today push their bodies to the maximum, some with the help of HGH and PEDs. They are moving faster and running with more power and force; the body is not designed to recover from the constant collisions that these men put themselves through.

Goodell has taken the first steps in making the league safer, by trying to protect the shield but also protect the game itself. But these changes can’t be superficial or cosmetic. They must be deep and all-encompassing, and we the fans must accept these changes, as they will ultimately protect those we root for every week.

Do we have the right as fans to expect these players to sacrifice their health and, in a growing number of cases, their lives—simply to perform for us once a week during the fall?

If we want football to continue, we must support these changes or risk losing it. In the early 1900s, President Teddy Roosevelt met with the leaders of early college football, with schools such as Harvard, Yale, Penn, Princeton, Colgate and Rutgers. He told them that they had to make the game safer (there had been many deaths on the field due to the violence of the game) or risk losing it.

This was at a time when the Federal Government had a fraction of the power it has today—in the current climate of Washington, where everything is over-governed, what do you think will happen if there is a death on the field?

In my opinion, I believe the government would step in and force the kinds of changes that would make football about as exciting to watch as bowling.

Check me out on twitter @matt.f.rogers