To start off, the helmets worn by the players in the NFL are very high quality and very protective to concussions. The Associated Press, representatives of the NFL, its players’ union, and the four equipment companies ,that make every helmet worn in the league, have agreed there is no perfect or concussion proof helmet and there may never be one. Knowing this the NFL spends an estimated 1.7 million dollars on helmets every year and are continuously trying to make them better at protecting a player from concussions when in all reality there is still the easy possibility that a player gets a concussion. These changes in helmets are not the only thing that has changed and made the NFL safer, the rules have also changed recently.

Football is typically known by people for being a tough sport with very strong and big athletes. However, with the recently added rule changes in the NFL the players are being fined and penalized for hits that were allowed before. Rules like a defenseless player cannot be hit in the head or neck area (a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty) and the quarterback can not be targeted in the head or neck area (a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty) are making the NFL an offensive league and taking away from the toughness of the game. With the rules like these already in place to protect against concussions there is no need to make stricter safety rules ruining the integrity of the game.

Yes, there may be the risk of serious brain injury when a concussion occurs, but the players in the NFL play the game because they love the toughness and integrity of the game. The players know about the risk of them getting a concussion because they know the game is about wanting to hit the player with the ball hard and taking them down with a big hit, but they still play the game and many of them are fine. Also, there is no way to guarantee a player that they will not get a concussion no matter the quality of their helmet or the rules in place to protect against concussions.