Our 2nd Annual Love Letter to the Players
What a season, albeit with a no-surprise finale.
Thank you to all the NFL players and coaching staffs for another great season. We loved watching you this year and – although our personal favorites are not in the finale – we’ll be watching this Sunday. It’s an annual American tradition that will be woven into our collective histories, uniquely bringing our country together – even if just for the commercials and half-time show.
We sell a concussion test. We have to talk about it.
Last year we wrote our inaugural love letter to NFL players on the eve of the Super Bowl. In it we noted that while the general long-term trend is that concussions are going down, in the last few years they were inching back up again.
In 2025 that trend is changing for the better, and there’s one big reason: the new kickoff rule. Dr. Allen Sills just sent out his annual letter summarizing the season’s injuries this morning. In it he noted that concussions on the kickoff play are down 43%. The rule change is exactly what is needed: identification of an aspect of the game where lots of injuries – especially concussions – occur, and changing the rules so that the play is safer. It’s a 1 year experiment which should be made permanent.
The pre-season concussions were down to just 44, a 24% decrease from the year before, and the overall total for the season was 182. We’re glad to see these are the lowest numbers since data commenced being reported in 2015, other than the 2020 Covid season which had 172.
We haven’t been asked, but we’ve got some ideas on how the NFL can do even better.
Continue to Enhance Prevention
Two aspects of prevention the NFL could implement before the 2025 season:
- Figure out the next big rule change experiment and implement it. The change to the kickoff rule worked to reduce injuries. The NFL has the data to figure out the next change it should try.
- Implement no tolerance for targeting.
Add Tools for Concussion Diagnosis
And here we make our annual request.
Better concussion diagnosis leads to fewer players playing while concussed, which leads to fewer second concussions, like the one Benford suffered in the AFC championship game. EyeBOX concussion test can help augment the NFL concussion protocol with more information. It is backed by research and peer reviewed studies, and gone through the rigorous FDA process. It requires no pre-injury baseline data, is non-invasive, portable, and provides an immediate result.
We’re here, waiting for our turn to enter the game.
Good luck this weekend. We’ve looked forward to watching you every week. Thank you for the phenomenal athleticism, the endzone dances, the close calls we agree – and even disagree – with, the passion, the drive, and the joy you bring to the game.
Now, one last game. Chiefs, Eagles – may the best team win. And may you all have a safe game.