Worried about high school football safety? Here's what the stats show.

Wisconsin loves football. On Friday nights across the state, teenagers and parents pack bleachers to watch high school games. On Saturdays, attention turns to the college level. And Packer Sundays are a singular ritual.

That passion is well known.

What's become better understood this century is the danger, at all ages, of immediate and long-term neurological damage from football hits.

Alma Center Lincoln 17-year-old Adam Massman's death Aug. 22 after an injury during a high school football game was extremely rare. But it has elevated attention to the sport's potential for tragedy.

What should Wisconsin parents do with that information? If your child is going to play football, how can they stay safe?

Here's some information to know:

What happened to Adam Massman?

Massman, a senior, got injured in a game Thursday, Aug. 20. A statement by the School District of Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan didn't say what type of injury it was, but EMTs were at the game and Massman was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Brianne Massman, Adam's mother, told the Journal Sentinel the family only knows for sure that Adam had helmet-to-helmet contact during the game.

“I mean, no one would ever think something that severe would really happen," she said in an Aug. 24 interview. "We're just completely devastated.”

How often do high school football players die?

Very rarely, and the number has decreased over the years. But it happens every year.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research compiles reports of football deaths and injuries at all age levels, in games, practices and workouts.

While it groups high school and middle school players together, its most recent annual report said there were five deaths in that age group in 2025. All five were classified as indirect, caused by exertional (like heat stroke) and medical reasons. There weren't any direct fatalities caused by traumatic injury.

From 2016 through 2025, there were an average of 8.4 deaths among middle- and high-schoolers per year – a total of 62 indirect and 22 direct.

The 22 direct fatalities were a 44% decrease from the previous 10 years, from 2006 through 2015, when there were 39.

The center found that the total number of direct traumatic injury-related deaths in football at all levels dropped 45% the past 10 years, compared to the previous 10 years.

How many youth football players suffer non-fatal injuries?

In 2025, there were 39 nonfatal "catastrophic" football injuries across all age levels, 31 of which occurred in middle- and high-school players, according to the center's 2026 report.

The center defines catastrophic football injuries as severe traumatic injuries, including brain and spinal cord injuries, skull and spinal fractures, and other injuries that result in permanent disability, temporary paralysis or other serious neurological outcomes.

What about long-term effects of repeated head injuries?

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a progressive neurological disease caused by repeated hits to the head.

A recent New York Times story reported on a study that revealed one in four ex-NFL players who died over a recent six-year period had CTE. Scientists think the actual number is much higher because most former players don't have their brains examined upon death.

Can more non-contact football practices help?

There is a reason the Ivy League banned full-contact practices in 2016, and why the NCAA recommended one "live-contact" practice per week that same year. It's the same reason the NFL and the players' union have agreed to limit them, too.

Players practice far more often than they play games, and limiting full-contact practices is a way to reduce injuries, including to the head.

What else can a coach, player or family member do?

There's a common sports idiom to "rub some dirt on it," when describing how to handle a minor injury. It's shorthand for an old-school mentality of toughness.

Be wary of it.

From teaching proper tackling – head up, eyes on the ball, shoulders absorbing the hit – to seeking care immediately if an injury is suspected, make safety a priority.

What about flag football as an alternative?

If you're worried about your child being injured, there's a version of football that's less risky: Flag football.

A CDC study published in 2021 found football players – those who play the traditional game, with tackling – ages 6-14 sustained 15 times more head impacts than their flag football counterparts. Those playing tackle football also sustained 23 times more high-magnitude head impacts than those playing flag.

Youth tackle football players experienced a median of 378 head impacts during the season, while flag football players experienced a median of eight, according to the study.

Flag football's popularity is increasing across the country, for both girls and boys. In Wisconsin, interest in girls flag football is blossoming.

Jack Albright can be reached at JAlbright@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Worried about high school football safety? Here's what the stats show.