Kansas City Chiefs

NFL announces concussions decreased by 11 percent this season

Published Jan. 26, 2017 1:12 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The NFL has made a concerted effort to address the number of head injuries and concussions on the field, and it seems to be working. According to the NFL, citing data compiled by QuintilesIMS Injury Surveillance and Analytics, concussions dropped by 11.3 percent this season from last year. In 2015, there were 275 concussions in the NFL compared to 244 this season – in practice and in regular-season games. In-game concussions alone decreased by 8.7 percent.

"That number 244 is aligned with about a five-year average, so those numbers are relatively consistent in that regard," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety.

"We've also seen an increase in self-reported concussions this year over last year, with last year being the first year that we really saw a significant number of self-reported concussions," said Dr. John York, chairman of the NFL owners' Health and Safety Advisory Committee. "So those all are all good changes with regards to the concussion protocol. And I would also say that they have an effect that may cause an increase in the number of concussions that we identify."