NFL Announces $100 Million in Concussion Initiatives to Help Player Safety

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday the league will commit $100 million to concussion prevention and research.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, $60 million will be used to help create better, safer helmets for players, and $40 million will go toward research. Goodell added:

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[It] builds on what we've done the last few years, but it takes it to another level in a variety of areas. ... It's all about protecting our players. ... We've seen some very positive things. But we're not satisfied. We're not comfortable. There are still things for us to do to make our game safer for our players and make it better for our players, and that's what we're gonna do.

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Goodell also expressed the importance of transparency and collaboration.

In a letter published on PlaySmartPlaySafe.com, he said: "This is an example of how we will let science lead the way. We know there is skepticism about our work in this area. That's why both the process and the results of our work will be shared with the medical community and the public at large."

He continued, per Maske:

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What we see are materials and technology that we didn't have before that disperse the forces in a way that can be very beneficial. And that's what we want to do is try to get the experts, the engineering experts and scientific experts, to look and say: How do we take technologies that may be in the automobile business and use those technologies to design a better helmet? ... We may even get to the point ... where there are different [helmets for different] types of impacts at different positions. That's something that needs to be evaluated by science and data and driven by data.

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Goodell said the NFL is continuing to make strides when it comes to players and coaches understanding the severity of concussions and the importance of getting them diagnosed:

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We're going to be open about that. This is not easy. It's hard. ... Culture change doesn't come overnight. Several years ago there were many who didn't think a player would ever raise their hand and say, 'I think I have a concussion.' Or a teammate would say, 'I think this individual should be evaluated.' Or coaches would say, 'We understand they need to be evaluated.' They have.

And I think everyone has understood the significance and the importance of making sure they get proper medical care promptly and by medical experts. And I think it's working incredibly well. Is it perfect? No. Will it be perfect? I don't know if it ever will because there's a human element here. But I know we'll continue to work to make it better.

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We saw in the first game of the season Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton take multiple hits to the head. Newton wasn't diagnosed with a concussion after the game, but questions arose whether proper concussion protocol was followed.

Bottom line: $100 million will help, but there's work to be done during games as well—from officials, players, coaches and medical personnel on the sidelines.

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