The National Football League is more popular than ever. In fact, I just received a press release today announcing that the league set a paid attendance record for the fifth straight year. But not only is the game itself big business, so are the players. Fellow b5er Miki Saxon (who writes for LeadershipTurn.com) brought this interesting factoid to my attention. From the Timothy R. Clark book EPIC Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age:

“Consider the changing physical profile of linemen who play in the National Football League (NFL). In 1976, there wasn’t a single player who tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds. Ten years later, there were 18. During the following decade, the number of players in this fleshy category swelled to 289. Fast-forward to the present, and that number has nearly doubled, with no fewer than 570 players on NFL rosters weighing in at not a biscuit under the three-hundred-pound threshold, constituting fully 20 percent of the player population. Yet the beefier trend isn’t new. Players have gradually been getting bigger since the early days of the game; for example, the average lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers weighed 210 pounds in 1946. Beyond the girth, however, what catches the eye is the astonishing acceleration of the trend.”

Sadly, along with that weight increase comes some danger. Grave danger. The heaviest athletes are more than twice as likely to die before their 50th birthday than their teammates, according to a Scripps Howard News Service study of 3,850 professional-football players who have died in the last century. Most of the 130 players born since 1955 who have died were among the heaviest athletes in sports history, according to the study. One-fifth died of heart diseases, and 77 were so overweight that doctors would have classified them as obese, the study found. So while the NFL and its players are enjoying tremendous popularity, physicians are increasingly questioning whether, by bulking up for their shot at fame and fortune, players are sacrificing their health later in life.

I plan to pursue this topic more in the offseason and talk to some of the 300+ pound players (like Tennessee Titans All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth) about their thoughts on this information. I’m wondering if there’s a feeling of invincibility or if they really are concerned about the dangers of weighing over 300 pounds.

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Pro Football is ‘Big’ Business: Twenty Percent of NFL Players Now Weigh Over 300 Pounds

The Pittsburgh Steelers got back to their winning ways tonight against the St. Louis Rams in a 41-24 road win, but it came at a price. The Steelers lost All-Pro RB Willie Parker for the rest of the season with a broken leg. The injury happened on his first carry. Najeh Davenport will take over the lion’s share of the ground game for Pittsburgh from here on out.

Najeh has run for a good average this season (4.9 ypr entering tonight’s game) and while he managed an impressive 123 yards on 24 carries tonight, he’s no Willie Parker. Najeh is a big, bruising runner with nowhere near Willie’s speed. But as was evidenced by Willie’s league-leading number of carries this season, Najeh will get a full workload as the Steelers head into the playoffs. It’s no secret that Pittsburgh likes to run the football and Najeh Davenport is perfectly suited for their ground game. He won’t offer the big play capabilities that Willie did, but I can assure you defenses will be tired of tackling him in the 4th quarter.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Lose All-Pro Willie Parker With Broken Leg, Beat Rams 41-24

As scheduled, both rookies and veterans were on-hand as the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their training camp today in Latrobe, PA. But safety Troy Polamalu had to be the happiest man in camp and the envy of his teammates as he signed a four-year, $30.19 million contract extension, becoming the highest-paid Pittsburgh Steeler ever and one of the NFL’s richest defensive backs.

If any Steelers player deserves this, it’s Troy Polamalu. Sure, All-Pro guard Alan Faneca should be among the league’s highest paid at his position (his pay day is coming in free agency next year), but nobody is as versatile as Troy, who is listed as a safety, but who really operates as a defensive hybrid as the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Steelers D.

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Troy Polamalu Becomes Highest-Paid Pittsburgh Steeler in Team History

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary Exhibit will receive a “Super” addition with the arrival of all five Steelers’ Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Championship Trophies. Visitors to the Hall of Fame can see these symbols of the Steelers’ long-time success for a limited time only from Friday, July 27 through Monday, August 6. (Here’s an interesting trivia question for you. I wonder how they got the trophies to Canton? I’ll find out, but in the meantime, send me your ideas.) I’ll see them on Saturday, April 4. It’s not until I’m actually close to this stuff that it sinks in — you know, the incredible history. That’s why I encourage every football fan to visit the Hall at least once in their lifetime. Once a year if possible.

This special exhibition of the team’s Vince Lombardi Trophies marks the first time that all five have been displayed outside of the team’s headquarters. The Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary Exhibit chronicles the history of the team and includes more than 100 specially selected artifacts from the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s collection as well as memorabilia from the Steelers, the Rooney family, and the Senator John Heinz History Center.

The Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary Exhibit will be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame through the end of August.

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Steelers’ Super Bowl Trophies at Hall of Fame