NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the largest donation in the NFL’s 92-year history, Wednesday: a $30 million grant to the National Institutes of Health to support medical research on concussions and other medical conditions - not just for football players, but for athletes across all sports. This grant is the latest philanthropic initiative from the league.
Last week they announced a partnership with the U.S. Army in pursuit of gaining more knowledge of brain injuries that affect both players and soldiers.
“We believe we’re leaders. And as leaders, we have to make a difference, not just in football and not just in the NFL, but at all levels of football and in other sports,” said Goodell in a sit-down with NFL.com.
“We believe even beyond that into the military. We think that research we do will share with everybody so that we can make everything safer.”
With this gift, the NFL becomes the founding donor to a new Sports and Health Research Program, which will be conducted in collaboration with institutes and centers at the NIH.
As there has been an increasing amount of awareness regarding football-related injuries, specifically brain injuries, the NFL has continued their efforts to pioneer research to improve the safety of its players and athletes everywhere.
“We wanted to find the answers that we think are so important for either head injuries or long-term cognitive care,” said Goodell. “We want to make sure we are doing everything possible to get the best research.
“NIH obviously is a leading institution that will pioneer that research, determine where the money is spent, help us find those answers, and make sure that it is available for everybody, just like we have done with all of our research.”
The league’s bottom line is to continue being a leader in efforts to treat head injuries and concussions conservatively and cautiously across the board.
“What we want to continue to do is be a part of that solution,” he said. “And we expect that this is a shared responsibility that we all have to do more.”
