Influenced by the recent head shots Cam Newton took against the Denver Broncos Opening Day of the NFL season, the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell is providing $100 Million to ensure that players are safe. In the letter, he wrote “[the NFL will] take a hard look at my aspect of the rules that can make the game safer for our players.” Goodell wrote a letter making it known that there are flaws in the high contact sport that can be rectified with changes to the rules. He is starting a movement for the NFL named “Play Safe, Play Smart” which advocates for the safety of each player.  In his letter, he states that he will produce $40 million dollars dedicated to medical research on the topic of injury in the NFL.  

Many of the actions might be a reaction to the banter that the sport has caused.  Watching football, viewers witness players getting hammered all over the field with intense tackles to weak parts of the body (head, knees, ribs).  Fans all over the country continuously complain, “This sport is too dangerous,” or “playing in the NFL will lead to injury and long term memory loss.” With Roger Goodell making the wellbeing of players in the NFL a priority, constant concussions and illegal tackles may come to an end.  

After the Super Bowl rematch, NFL analysts addressed the Panther’s quarterback as “the New Shaquille O’Neal” – because of their dominating body types, it’s hard to defend these two fairly. Officials make assumptions that because of their figure, the only way to stop them is through “cheap shots.”  Hitting them undermines their body, leading them to produce less. The only way to prevent O’Neal from scoring 40 points fairly is by having him score 25 with unfair defense. The only way to stop Cam Newton from scoring 6 Touchdowns fairly- hitting him at a constant rate will lead him to scoring 3. Roger Goodell’s proposed methods will help players like Cam Newton and other quarterbacks less subject to hard hits by protecting their bodies.  

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