At the end of every season, the NFL shares an overview of regular season injury data as a part of the league's commitment to sharing progress on its efforts to advance player health and safety.
On January 30, 2026, the NFL shared takeaways from the 2025 regular season injury data, with insights from NFL Executive Vice President overseeing Player Health and Safety Jeff Miller, NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills, and Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte on what the data numbers mean, and how it will inform the league's health and safety priorities going forward.
1. "New Normal" Holds Steady
Injury rates remained stable in 2025, continuing the steady trend observed in recent years following a significant decline earlier in the decade. Despite an increase in action plays – driven in large party by the Dynamic Kickoff – the number of games missed due to injury did not rise.
2. Increased Action, Lower Injury Rate with new Kickoff Play
Concussions on the kickoffs increased year-over-year (from 8 to 35) due to the higher number of plays – but the rate remains below the old kickoff format, as the kickoff return rate more than doubled in the second season under the Dynamic Kickoff, resulting in 1,157 more returned kickoffs. There was also a 35% decrease in the lower-extremity injury rate on the play compared to the prior format. The league also saw special teams become a larger part of the game, without driving up overall injury rates.
3. Lower-Extremity Injuries: ACLs Reach a Seven-Year Low
The lower-extremity rate remained steady overall, though notably, ACL tears dropped by 25% in the 2025 regular season, tying a seven-season low. Most of the reduction was in non-contact ACL injuries, often related to change-of-direction or cutting. There was also a decrease in hamstring and other lower-extremity strains – traditionally the highest injury burden for NFL players – with the rate now half of what it was between 2018 and 2022.
4. Concussions: Continued Conservative Approach, with Emphasis on Reducing Head Contact and Technique
The league remains focused on reducing concussions and minimizing head contacts and high-speed impacts. The NFL's conservative and proactive approach is a testament to that commitment and this season there were a record 538 in-game concussion evaluations and 26 medical timeouts.
Innovations in protective equipment are also central to these efforts, with more than 98% of players now wearing top-performing helmets. The pace of innovation is encouraging, and in the offseason, the league will prioritize facemask design improvements to match the advances made in helmet shell technology.
5. Playing Surfaces: No Difference in Injury Rates, Focus on Optimization
For the third consecutive season, there was no statistically significant difference in injury rates between artificial turf (0.43) and grass (0.42) on time-loss non-direct contact injuries. The NFL continues to take a holistic approach to playing surfaces, emphasizing quality and consistency through enhanced testing protocols and the introduction of new Mandatory Practices for NFL Playing Surfaces and the Playing Surface Best Practices guide released in partnership with the NFL Players Association.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 season saw continued progress in player health and safety, with key wins in reducing lower-extremity injuries and maintaining overall injury rates amid more dynamic play. Looking ahead, the NFL will continue its work alongside the Players Association, medical committee members, and the Competition Committee, focusing on gameplay and emerging injury trends to inform continued efforts to make the game safer.
