Players’ safety versus money

On my visits to the US, I know it is inadvisable to visit a home when there is a big football game in progress. Many Trinis resident there for a long time are hooked on the game and have their favourite football team. As for myself, I do not understand the game, so I decided to seek information.

Football in the US is a big money- making activity, with the Dallas Cowboys being worth US$4 billion — the world’s richest club.

The four highest earners in the National Football League are Drew Brees — US$31.2 million, Andrew Luck — US$30 million, Olivier Vernon — US$29 million, and Joe Flacco — US$29 million.

For comparison the four highest earners in the National Basketball Association are LeBron James — US$30.9 million, Mike Conley — US$26.5 million, Al Horford — US$26.5 million, Dirk Nowitzki — US$25 million (ESPN). The NBA is the highest paying professional sports league in the world with 58 players making more than US$15 million and 433 players making more than US$1 million this season (CNN).

It is estimated that James will earn salary and endorsements worth US$77 million next year.

He has a net worth of US$340 million (Forbes).

In 2016 the highest earning soccer players were Cristiano Ronaldo — US$53 million, Lionel Messi — US$57 million, Zlaton Ibrahimovic — US$37 million, Neymar Jr — US$36 million. Last December, Ronaldo refused an offer of US$100 million to play in China for one year.

NFL revenue for 2015 was US$13 billion to which TV rights contributed US$3 billion. Major League Baseball revenue was US$9.5 billion, Premier League football in the UK, US$5.3 billion, and the NBA, US$4.8 billion.

There is an average of 68,000 spectators at a football game with a total of approximately 17 million spectators for the season.

The average attendance at a Dallas Cowboys home game is 88,500 spectators. In 2015 the average ticket price was US$86 with the highest ticket price at US$123.

The average attendance at an MLB game is 30,800 while at an NBA game it is 17,000, depending on the capacity of the venue.

But with all this money circulating there is one significant negative aspect to the game of American football. It is the injuries suffered by the players which are not normally highlighted.

Forty percent of former NFL players suffer from traumatic brain injury.

The results of a study presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April 2016 offered conclusive evidence of a definitive link between brain injury and playing football.

This is not the first study of its kind. Last year Frontline reported that researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which the Mayo Clinic defines as “brain degeneration likely caused by repeated head traumas, a diagnosis made only at autopsy,” in 96 percent of the NFL players they examined and in 79 percent of football players at various levels of play.

The researchers studied 165 deceased people who had played the sport in high school, college or professionally, and found evidence of CTE in 131 of them.

This study is one of the largest studies to date in living retired NFL players and the first to demonstrate significant objective evidence for traumatic brain injury in these former players.

Is it going to be the continuing risk of traumatic brain injury to football players or will it be the money? An impor t - ant decision for Amer i - can parents.