Head games: Navigating liability and insurance in the NFL

Sabrina Du

Risk Management and Insurance Review, 2025, vol. 28, issue 3, 427-447

Abstract: This teaching case explores the National Football League's (NFL) evolving risk management strategy in response to mounting concussion‐related liability. As research increasingly links repeated head trauma to long‐term neurodegenerative diseases, the NFL has faced a surge in lawsuits, insurance market withdrawal, and reputational challenges. Traditional insurers have grown wary of underwriting the league's liability risks, prompting the NFL to consider self‐insurance as a long‐term solution. This case examines the financial and strategic implications of that decision, drawing on concepts from insurance economics, enterprise risk management, and long‐tail risks, and the role of corporate culture in shaping risk responses. Designed for students in insurance, risk management, or sports economics courses, the teaching case fosters discussion on how large organizations manage uncertainty when traditional risk‐transfer mechanisms fail.

Date: 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1111/rmir.70018

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:28:y:2025:i:3:p:427-447

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