Rankings in orange circles compare this sport with nine other sports offered for this gender before customization – meaning each of the three health categories is given an equal one-third weighting. The ranking is comprised of data collected or developed from various sources (75% of score) and expert opinion (25% of score). The healthiest sports in each of the three categories – physical activity, safety and psychosocial benefits – and in each data measurement are ranked No. 1. Note: Some sports did not have significant differences between each other in the data. Learn more about our methodology.
8th
out of 10
Physical Activity
Expert Opinion Rank: 9th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Football’s physical activity at practices rank eighth among the 10 boys sports studied by North Carolina State University. Football has 38.9 percent vigorous activity; the 10 boys sports average 48.5 percent. Fifty-three percent of football practice time focus on skills (more than any other boys sport) compared to 10 percent on fitness.
1 North Carolina State University research observing high school athletes in North Carolina, 2017-18.
10th
out of 10
Safety
41.3
Injury Rate2(10th out of 10)
12.1%
Injury Time/Loss3(7th out of 10)
1.21
Catastrophic Rate4(10th out of 10)
7.4%
Injuries Requiring Surgery5(9th out of 10)
10.2
Concussion Rate6(10th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 10th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Football has the highest injury and concussion rates among all sports, regardless of gender, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. Injuries to the head/face, ankle, knee and hand/wrist are the most common. Though still low relatively speaking, football’s catastrophic rate is more than twice as high as the next-closest boys sport (lacrosse).
2 Injury rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
3 Percentage of all injuries resulting in greater than three weeks of time loss from the sport, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
4 Non-fatal catastrophic injury/illness rate per 100,000 exposures, National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 1982-2016.
5 Percentage of all injuries requiring surgery, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
6 Concussion rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
2nd
out of 10
Psychosocial
Aspen Psychosocial Survey7
3.631
Personal Social Skills(1st out of 10)
2.929
Cognitive Skills(1st out of 10)
3.633
Goal-Setting(3rd out of 10)
3.794
Initiative(4th out of 10)
3.721
Health(2nd out of 10)
1.501
Negative Experiences(8th out of 10)
Substance Abuse
Cigarette Use8
18.5%
(8th out of 10)
Binge Drinking9
32.3%
(8th out of 10)
Marijuana Use10
31.2%
(9th out of 10)
Academic Achievement
Cut Class11
32%
(8th out of 10)
A/A- Student12
28.2%
(9th out of 10)
Graduate From College13
55.2%
(9th out of 10)
Psychological health14
How We Define Our Metrics
4.27
Self-Esteem(T-4th out of 10)
2.27
Fatalism(T-6th out of 10)
3.73
Self-Efficacy(8th out of 10)
2.42
Loneliness(3rd out of 10)
1.94
Self-Derogation(4th out of 10)
4.14
Social Support(7th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: T-2nd Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Football rates first among the 10 boys sports in the Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial survey, though the gap isn’t large compared to No. 10 cross country. Developing social and cognitive skills are strengths for football. The sport’s overall Psychosocial score is lower than the Aspen/Texas survey due to poorer scores for substance abuse and academic achievement based on Women’s Sports Foundation data.
7 Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial benefits survey of high school athletes nationally, 2018. Scoring ranges from 1-4, with 4 being the best except for the Negative Experiences category.
8 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
9 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport binge drinking alcohol in the past two weeks. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
10 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport using marijuana in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
11 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who cut class for a full day in the past month. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
12 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who have an average grade of an A or A-. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
13 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who expect to graduate from a four-year college. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
14 Average scores of high school seniors in the sport in psychological health report card. Data for these six categories came from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters. Scoring ranges from 1-5, with 5 being the best for self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support.