• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
SRI logo
  • About
    • Press room
    • Our history
  • Expertise
    • Advanced imaging systems
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Biomedical R&D services
    • Biomedical sciences
    • Computer vision
    • Cyber & formal methods
    • Education and learning
    • Innovation strategy and policy
    • National security
    • Ocean & space
    • Quantum
    • Robotics, sensors & devices
    • Speech & natural language
    • Video test & measurement
  • Ventures
  • NSIC
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • 日本支社
Search
Close
History of innovation November 16, 2021 Business, Economic Development, Health, Safety, The 1980s

Football safety

Football safety – 1980’s

The National Football League (NFL) hired SRI in the mid-1980s for a multidisciplinary study of measures to reduce the number and severity of injuries to professional football players.

The study began with analysis of the numbers, types, and causes of injuries to players. SRI proposed, for the first time, a gradation in the severity of injuries. This system gave the NFL a way to quantitatively assess which injuries needed the most attention, and the causes that led to the prevalence of each.

SRI then proposed changes such as better player conditioning, improved playing surfaces, better equipment (especially helmet design), and rule changes. To gauge the effects of various artificial turfs, SRI proposed a “punishment index”—an approach that factored in the effect of cleat size and length on injuries on various surfaces.

SRI was involved in league expansion and movement as well. In specific studies for Commissioner Pete Rozelle, SRI recommended expansions for Seattle and Tampa Bay in 1976 and for the Baltimore Colts to transfer to Indianapolis in 1984.

BusinessEconomic DevelopmentHealthSafetyThe 1980s
Share this
Career call to action image

Work with us

Search jobs

How can we help?

Once you hit send…

We’ll match your inquiry to the person who can best help you.

Expect a response within 48 hours.

Our work

Case studies

Publications

Timeline of innovation

Areas of expertise

Institute

Leadership

Press room

Media inquiries

Compliance

Careers

Job listings

Contact

SRI Ventures

Our locations

Headquarters

333 Ravenswood Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA

+1 (650) 859-2000

Subscribe to our newsletter


日本支社
SRI International
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • DMCA
  • Copyright © 2023 SRI International
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}