CONCUSSIONS RISE 58 PERCENT
TheNFL said reported concussions rose 58 percent in regular- season games to the highest number in any of the past four years.
The league issued its concussion data for 2015 on Friday, a little more than a week before the Super Bowl, and it showed that helmet- to- helmet hits were also way up.
Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president of health and safety policy, said during a conference call that the league will study what might have caused the incidence of head injuries to rise so much this season.
Among the possible explanations mentioned by Millerwere a doubling in the number of players screened for possible concussions, “unprecedented levels of players reporting signs and signals of concussions,” and the fact that trainerswhowork as spotters or independent neurologists on sidelines “are much more actively participating in identifying this injury.”
According to the NFL, there were 182 reported concussions from 2015 regular- season games, reversing a recent downward trend. There were 115 in 2014, 148 in 2013, and 173 in 2012.
Spanos: Chargers to stay put in 2016 B
san diego » Chargers chairman Dean Spanos said the team will play in San Diego in 2016, and he’ll work with politicians and the business community to try to resolve a long, bitter battle over a new stadium.
Spanos’ statement came shortly after a report said the Chargers had reached a deal to join the Rams in a stadium expected to open in Inglewood in 2019.
Spanos’ announcement came about two weeks after NFL owners voted to approve Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s plans to build a stadium in Inglewood near Los Angeles.
Kelce gets extension
B kansas city, mo. » The Chiefs signed tight end Travis Kelce to a $ 46 million, five- year extension.
The deal includes $ 20.5 million in guarantees, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs did not disclose terms of the contract, which the 26- year- old Kelce signed while in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. The Associated Press