NFL Data: 271 Concussions Diagnosed In 2015 Season, Up 32 Percent From Previous Season
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- From the 2014 to the 2015 season, the incidence of concussions has risen significantly in the NFL.
The league released data on Friday which stated 271 concussions were diagnosed across the NFL from the 2015 preseason through the end of the regular season.
That number is up rather significantly from last year, when 206 concussions were diagnosed. That's an increase of 32 percent over last year.
The 271 concussions also count as the most in the past four years, which is as far back as the data released Friday goes. In 2012, there were 261 diagnosed concussions, a number which dropped to 229 in 2013.
Overall, it's a 17 percent increase in 2015 over the three-year span of 2012-14.
Of the 271 concussions in 2015, the league said that 234 were suffered during games, while 37 were suffered in practice.
The data also detailed how the concussions were suffered. Helmet-to-helmet hits caused 92 of the concussions, or roughly 34 percent. That was the highest number in the data, as helmet-to-helmet hits were to blame for 58 concussions the previous year.
The second-highest cause for concussions this year was the playing surface, which caused 29 this year. Thirteen concussions were listed as having "unknown" causes.
The league also noted that 170 MCL sprains were suffered, way up from the average of 136 per year over the previous three seasons.
It was not a banner season for the NFL in terms of its treatment of brain trauma. The film "Concussion" was released on Christmas Day, a film that showed the league's years-long refusal to admit there was a problem taking place on its playing fields. Commissioner Roger Goodell also ended up making headlines for his laughter following a concussion joke made by Roger Staubach.
Over the course of last year, heartened perhaps by the overall number of concussions dropping year-to-year from 2012-14, Goodell touted the success of the league's initiatives to create a safer playing environment.
"I think we're at 39 rule changes over the last 10 years to make our game safer. They've had a dramatic impact on the game. We've seen reductions in concussions [by] 35 percent. We're seeing the rules protect the players from unnecessary injuries, and that's important," Goodell said in a December interview, per the New York Daily News.
This came after Case Keenum was left in a game despite suffering a clear and obvious concussion late in a game for the St. Louis Rams.
In October, Goodell likewise spoke of the NFL's success in limiting concussions on the field.
"It is the highest priority for us. We continue to make significant progress there. I think the rules changes, the changes to our policies, the changes to our protocols have all resulted to changes in our culture and that is something we're very pleased about," Goodell said. "We're seeing a 35 percent reduction the last three years in concussions alone. That is a very positive trend. We have the new medical timeout this year which has been used twice, both times we think protecting our players, which is something that we believe is certainly our priority."
Clearly, the positivity will be tempered next week when Goodell delivers his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference.
The problem for the NFL was on display just a few weeks ago, Antonio Brown lay motionless after suffering a concussion on an unnecessary hit in a violent game on a national stage this postseason. Bengals cornerback Adam Jones ended up accusing the receiver of faking the injury, though the concussion eventually forced Brown to miss the Steelers' divisional playoff game. A star player kept off the field because of an unnecessary hit that resulted in brain trauma is a problem that no suspension or fine can quickly fix.
It's an issue that remains front and center for a league that's struggled -- sometimes intentionally, most other times inevitably -- to develop any sort of real solution.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.