Flag Football Under 14

Why Tackle Can Wait

Our award-winning PSA, “Tackle Can Wait,” drives home the message that tackle football is unacceptably dangerous for children, and that flag football should be the only choice for children under 14.

A study led by Boston University researchers published in the Annals of Neurology concluded that the risk of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is not linked to the number of concussions but is instead linked to the number of years playing tackle football.

The study also found that the risk of CTE increases by 30% each year, meaning it doubles for every 2.6 years of football played. Any future high school, college, or NFL player who starts tackle football at age five may have 10 times the odds of developing CTE than if he had started at 14. In fact, the statistical link between tackle football and CTE may be as strong as the link between smoking and lung cancer.

Why Age 14?

Flag Football Under 14 is part of the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada’s Stop Hitting Kids in the Head initiative, which aims to accelerate the reform of youth contact sports. We believe each sport should promote a youth version that does not allow purposeful repetitive brain trauma for children before age 14.

A child’s body is not designed for tackle football. Because the head grows faster than the body, a child’s large head makes head impacts inevitable, more powerful, and more dangerous. Sensors show the average head impact in youth football is 20.6 g, the same as the average head impact in college football. Plus, the resources and protections in place for high school athletes are vastly different than those typically offered in youth contact sports.