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Sports injuries and game stakes: Concussions in the National Football League

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  • Pascal Courty
  • Jeffrey Cisyk

Abstract

The National Football League's regular‐season games are not of equal importance: some games loom larger than others for determining a team's chance to qualify for the playoffs. We develop an incentive‐based measure of the impact of winning a game on a team's qualification probability to study the relationship between stakes and injuries. We find teams are 24 percentage points more likely to suffer concussions in games where a win secures one team a playoff berth. This is the first evidence to support the risk‐escalation hypothesis that injuries increase with a competition's stakes. We then discuss implications for sports injury prevention.

Suggested Citation

  • Pascal Courty & Jeffrey Cisyk, 2024. "Sports injuries and game stakes: Concussions in the National Football League," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 430-448, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:62:y:2024:i:1:p:430-448
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13173
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    References listed on IDEAS

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