NFL Gives $30M to Brain Research

The National Football League is making its largest donation ever—$30 million—to the National Institutes of Health to back brain-injury research, league officials said. Professional football has come under fire in recent years as head injuries sustained by players have been linked to long-term health effects. “Our commitment here is to hopefully help set the standard and lead the way in research about head injuries, and we’re doing it with the leading scientists,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NIH already spends about $81 million a year researching head injuries, which are a frequent plague of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as in the sports arena.