And now someone cares enough to put figures to it. A former athletic trainer for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kevin Guskiewicz started the UNC center at the request of the NFLPA, which finally wanted to know if the premature death figures were true.
In the last five years, Guskiewicz has surveyed approximately 2,700 former NFL cases, or nearly 70 percent of the players on roll.
Hey, Kevin: How'd you get so many guys to cooperate?
"Their wives wanted to know more than they do," he said.
His research is encouraging and alarming.
Good news: The mortality rate of the players surveyed is "pretty much in range" with the general population.
Bad news: Men who played in the '40s and '50s have a BMI "significantly lower" than players from the '90s, who haven't reached their mid-50s yet.
The average BMI of an NFL player in the '90s is 32, which the government officially classifies as obese. Some register in the 40s, nearly twice the normal range.
Nick Schulz is the Editor of Tech Central Station and has worked in media circles and the ideas industry as a writer, editor, television producer and policy analyst. His writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Slate, The National Post of Canada, The Baltimore Sun, Investor's Business Daily, The Washington Times, National Review, Reason, Policy Review, and several other publications. He is also, it should be said, a rabid sports fan whose fandom is inversely proportional to his overall athletic ability.
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