Research Data Brief • Defensive Players • 2021–2025
NFL Defensive Player Concussion and Arrest Data, 2021–2025
A descriptive research resource summarizing defensive-player concussion history, football exposure, and booking-based arrest outcomes among NFL defensive players observed from 2021 through 2025.
At a Glance
Dataset Overview
This defensive-player dataset links player-level football participation, documented concussion history, and booking-based arrest outcomes. The analytic file includes defensive exposure measures such as games played, defensive snaps, tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, quarterback hits, position group, and team, alongside concussion and arrest indicators.
Football and Exposure Measures
- Position group and team
- Games played and games started
- Defensive snaps and defensive snap percentage
- Combined tackles, solo tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, and quarterback hits
Concussion and Arrest Measures
- Total documented concussions
- Indicator for documented concussion history
- Booking-based arrest indicator
- Violent, property, public-order, and criminal-justice offense flags
Sample Descriptives
| Group | N | Games, mean (SD) | Defensive snaps, mean (SD) | Concussion history | Violent arrest | Public-order arrest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full sample | 1,787 | 34.57 (24.57) | 1,095.38 (1,235.26) | 203 (11.4%) | 22 (1.2%) | 23 (1.3%) |
| No booking arrest | 1,742 | 34.46 (24.61) | 1,088.99 (1,237.32) | 196 (11.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Booking arrest | 45 | 38.84 (22.92) | 1,342.76 (1,137.65) | 7 (15.6%) | 22 (48.9%) | 23 (51.1%) |
Descriptive Arrest Patterns by Concussion Status
Any Booking-Based Arrest
Players with documented concussion history had a slightly higher descriptive arrest prevalence than players without documented concussion history.
Fisher OR = 1.45; p = .342
Violent Booking-Based Arrest
Violent booking-based arrest prevalence was also descriptively higher among players with documented concussion history, though the estimate was imprecise.
Fisher OR = 1.75; p = .304
Exposure-Based Comparisons
Defensive exposure was examined using high-exposure indicators, including the highest defensive-snap quartile and highest tackle quartile. In descriptive comparisons, players in the highest exposure groups had somewhat higher arrest prevalence, but these differences were not statistically significant in the bivariate tables.
| Comparison | Lower exposure event rate | Higher exposure event rate | Fisher OR | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest snap quartile × any arrest | 2.2% | 3.3% | 1.49 | .224 |
| Highest snap quartile × violent arrest | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.38 | .465 |
| Highest tackle quartile × any arrest | 2.2% | 3.3% | 1.50 | .223 |
| Highest tackle quartile × violent arrest | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.39 | .463 |
Position and Offense-Type Summaries
Position Group Arrest Prevalence
| Position group | N | Arrest % | Concussion % |
|---|---|---|---|
| DB | 733 | 3.1% | 15.7% |
| DL/EDGE | 561 | 2.1% | 6.6% |
| LB | 493 | 2.0% | 10.3% |
Arrest Event Type Distribution
| Offense type | Events | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Public order | 25 | 43.1% |
| Violent | 23 | 39.7% |
| Property | 6 | 10.3% |
| Criminal justice-related | 4 | 6.9% |
Interpretation and Limitations
These results are descriptive and should not be interpreted as evidence that concussions cause arrests or criminal justice contact. The analyses are based on observed records, documented concussion history, and booking-based arrest measures. Arrests, charges, and allegations do not imply guilt.
Timing should also be interpreted cautiously. Among players with both documented concussion history and a booking-based arrest record, the available timing table indicates that the first concussion date preceded or matched the earliest arrest date in 3 cases, while the first concussion date occurred after the earliest arrest date in 4 cases.