KFF and ESPN today jointly released a first-of-its-kind, in-depth polling and reporting project that sheds new light on the health issues and other challenges facing NFL players after they leave the game.
The KFF/ESPN Survey of 1988 NFL Players draws on a novel survey of 546 respondents who were among the 1,532 players from the 1988 season.
Now, at an average age of 62, large majorities of these former NFL players say pro football was bad for their health, but 90 percent say they would choose to play again. Most report that football had positive benefits to their life and relationships despite the negative health effects. The survey also uncovered stark racial disparities, with Black players much more likely than White players to report serious health problems after football.
The survey focused on players from the 1988 season after the widow of former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Daren Gilbert reached out to ESPN about the struggles faced by her late husband and his teammates.
As part of the project, KFF’s polling experts and ESPN reporters jointly designed and analyzed the survey. ESPN today published a package of comprehensive stories and video on the data, along with a lengthy narrative on the fates of Daren Gilbert and his Saints teammates. KFF published a comprehensive report detailing the survey’s findings.
“For the first time, we are able to truly gauge whether playing one of the most physical sports at the highest level is worth it,” said Chris Buckle, ESPN Vice President, Investigative Journalism. “The survey responses are incredibly enlightening. Hearing such honest stories from players and their families about all the good and bad that comes alongside a pro football player’s life is especially moving, and how players view the next generation of would-be players from their families is fascinating.”
“I was at the game with my dad in 1978 when the late Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots was paralyzed for life after a hit to the head over the middle,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. “The times have changed and the game may be safer today in some ways, but players now in their 60s tell us that living the pro football dream was worth whatever health and suffering has followed for them.”
Among the survey’s many findings, about three-quarters of players from the 1988 season say the game has negatively affected their physical health, and one-third say it has had a negative impact on their mental health. At the same time, about 9 in 10 say playing in the NFL has had a positive impact on their lives in general. Large majorities say it was a boon for their finances, later career opportunities, and relationships with family and friends. Ninety percent say they would make the choice to play again.
About the Survey:
Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF in collaboration with reporters at ESPN, the KFF/ESPN Survey of 1988 NFL Players was conducted October 17 – November 30, 2024, online and by telephone, among a representative sample of 546 former NFL players who played at least one game in the 1988 season. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results based on other subgroups of players, the margin of sampling error may be higher.
