Dying To Play
NFL Players Risking Their Health
By Tony Cimaglia

What a difference 20 years makes.

As the game of football has evolved over the last two decades-becoming bigger and faster-more and more players are taking drastic measures in order to reap the benefits of living an NFL life.

And they may be dying because of it.

Overweight players have become an issue on every level of football, but particularly in the NFL, where living large during your playing days can mean dying young once you retire.

According to a study conducted by Scripps Howard News Service in January 2006, retired NFL linemen have a three times greater risk of dying from heart disease than players at other positions.

The study looked at 3,850 active and retired pro football players born since 1905, and determined that the heaviest athletes were twice as likely to die before their 50th birthday than their teammates.

In the 1980s, the average weight of an offensive tackle in the NFL was 281 pounds; 20 years later, that number has skyrocketed to 318.

And as today's players get bigger, they stay bigger, meaning major health problems once they retire.

"When you leave the game, you have to continue doing things to stay in shape," says Craig Wolfley, a former guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1980-1990. "You can't stay stagnant. That's where guys run into problems. They still eat like they're still playing. They become very sedentary and that's where the danger lies."

Wolfley's former teammate, Tunch Ilkin, was a two-time Pro Bowl tackle with the Steelers from 1980-1992.

"You just can't eat like that anymore," Ilkin says. "You have to eat more healthy. Most guys think they'll live forever when they're young, but when you start pushing 50, you have to start making better choices. You have to start making sure your cholesterol is down, your weight is down, and you have to make sure that you make healthy choices, because the diet and lifestyle is different in the NFL."

Ilkin was small by today's NFL standards, never going into training camp weighing more than 270 pounds. By stark contrast, the lightest member of the Steelers' 2006 starting offensive line is center Jeff Hartings, who is listed at 295 pounds.

Tackles Marvel Smith and Max Starks, along with guards Alan Faneca and Kendall Simmons, are all listed at over 300 pounds, with Starks the heaviest at 337.

But even playing at such a light weight - his normal weight was between 260 and 265 pounds - Ilkin knew that once he retired, the weight had to come off.

"I'm probably down 20 pounds, maybe a little more than that," says Ilkin. "I made a conscious effort to get as healthy as I could. It was actually hard for me to keep the weight on when I played. I ate a lot of foods high in protein and fat, but when I got out of the game, I knew I couldn't eat like that anymore. I started making healthy choices with my diet and exercise. You have to change your life around, or else you'll put a lot of unnecessary pressure on your heart and body in general."

Overweight players, however, won't be found on just the offensive line these days, as defensive linemen need to be just as big - if not bigger - to keep up with their offensive counterparts.

Players such as Cincinnati's Sam Adams (350 pounds) and Atlanta's Grady Jackson, who is listed at 345 pounds but is closer to 400 pounds than 300, have drawn some criticism because of their expanding waste lines.

"I feel bad for those guys," says Ilkin. "It has to be tough carrying that much weight. It has to put a real strain on the heart. I hope they can get that weight off when they're done."

Looking at the deaths of 130 players born before 1955, the Scripps Howard study determined that 77 were obese, and one-fifth of them died from heart disease.

Two studies of nearly 400 retired NFL players showed that more than half of the linemen had greater risk factors for heart disease and were 54 percent more likely to have enlarged hearts.

In 2005, San Francisco offensive lineman Thomas Herrion was just 23-years-old when he collapsed and died after an exhibition game.

An autopsy revealed the 315-pound Herrion had an oversized and scarred heart.

Former Steelers center Mike Webster and guard Steve Furness both died of heart attacks before their 51st birthdays, and they are just two of 18 former Steelers who have died since 2000.

Of the 77 players from the 1970s and '80s who have died since 2000, 16 of them were former Steelers (one in five), and several of them played alongside Ilkin and Wolfley.

Three of the deaths - Justin Strzelcyk, David Little and Steve Courson - were accidental in nature, while a fourth, Terry Long, committed suicide.

That still leaves 14 Steelers who have died in the last six years from heart problems and other diseases.

Courson, who died in 2005 when a tree he was cutting fell on him, was one of the first NFL players to admit to abusing steroids. He became an outspoken opponent of steroids use and blamed the drugs for his heart condition.

It has been widely speculated that steroids abuse may have contributed to the deaths of a number of former Steelers, but nothing has been proven to date.

So were the deaths mere coincidences, or were they by-products of careers in the NFL?

"To me it seems like a series of unfortunate events," Wolfley said. "It's God's own timing. There's no way I can see any other correlation to anything other than that."

Added Ilkin: "It's sad, because a lot of my teammates are gone, and a lot of them were good friends. I miss all those guys. The only thing that jumps in to my mind is how sad it is to lose good buddies and teammates. I don't think most of those deaths had anything to do with football."

But should the NFL and its 32 teams be responsible for controlling the weight of the players, or should it be left up to the players themselves?

Messages left with the NFL Players' Association were not returned.

"Should the NFL mandate it? I don't know. I think if you're an adult, you choose what to put in your body," says Ilkin. "You choose to play or not play. These guys are adults and they know what they need to do. Some guys think it's just easier to be 330 pounds; they can be big and don't have to watch their weight because they're supposed to be big. We all have choices to make."

But is the fame and fortune of the NFL worth the possible risk of your life?

"I don't think of football as risk, life is a risk," Ilkin said. "I'm not going to keep my kids from playing football. I don't believe in living afraid. I enjoyed my career and I'd do it again. Although I ate poorly then, I'm a lot healthier now.

"Sometimes I wonder, did I take too many anti-inflammatories? Did I eat too poorly? I don't know. I don't have any long-term problems that I know of, so I must have done something right."

Many players do, however, suffer from long-term problems once they retire.

Webster, for instance, was diagnosed with brain damage in 1999, the result of 16 years of punishment that left him permanently disabled when he retired in 1991.

"Everybody has to understand there's inherent risks in playing football, and that's why they make the big money to take those risks," Wolfley said. "Each man has to make his own path in life, and whatever path he chooses to walk, there's going to be risks. It's like God hardwires everyone differently, and some guys are made to step into that arena."

The hardest part for some, unfortunately, is stepping back out.

Tony Cimaglia is the managing editor of the Mineral Daily News Tribune in Keyser, WV.