When did professional sports go from being healthy to being life-shorteners? It depends on the type of professional sport, the duration a person plays, the position they play within that sport, and individual genetics. We’re working with generalities to discuss which sports will shorten (or lengthen) the average player who plays a sport professionally and an average American.
However, averages come from many statistics based on real-life people over time. There’s statistics that support the data we’re going to discuss today to answer the question: which professional sports will shorten your life span by five years?
Average Life Spans
Did you know that up to 60% of your health, like your life span, is determined by your zip code? That’s a dizzying statistic that’s difficult to account for when considering overall average life spans. Only 40% of your life expectancy is based on more internal facts, like genetics.
The CDC listed many different average life expectancies. For example, the average woman will live 80.2 years, and the average male will live 74.8 years.
Breaking down by race, the numbers also differ. Asian individuals have the longest life expectancy of 83.5 years, Hispanic individuals are next at 77.7 years, white people come in third with an average expectancy of 76.4 years, black people have an average expectancy of 70.8 years, and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals have the shortest life span with 65.2 years.
Obviously, these are only a few demographics that can determine a person’s life expectancy. Sports are another. This is hardly an exact science; it’s statistically impossible for it to be. Professional sports are played by people of different genders and races, for example. However, we will talk about sports that tend to shorten the length of a person’s life and those that generally lengthen it.
Average Life Span Shortening Professional Sports
Research shows that people who play professional sports like football, baseball, boxing, and hockey die sooner. Don’t even get us started on other ways that contact during professional sports can impact life duration and quality (CTE!). Ask Ronda Rousey what it’s like to fight with a brain injury.
Former NFL players die at roughly 59.6 years old on average. Past MLB players pass away at 66.7 years old. Boxing will leave the average player with 67.7 years of life. The NHL is really unique in the sense that the average life expectancy for most players is 57.7 years, but for the enforcing position (an unofficial term for fighters and “tough guys” on the ice, like during the playoffs), that life span is 10 years shorter at just 47.5 years.
Average Life Span Lengthening Sports
The majority of sports that are life-span lengtheners are non-contact sports. This means sports that don’t require smashing into other people or objects are good for you. Imagine that.
Tennis (check out our Total Apex Sports content here) is the professional sport with players with the longest life expectancy with an additional 9.7 years of life. Badminton comes in hot at second with an additional 6.2 years. Cycling, swimming, and jogging all add about 3 extra years of life on average. Also, being an Olympic athlete will add roughly five years to an athlete’s life.
About the Author
The author, Julie Miller, has two degrees that barely have anything to do with sports. They do offer insight on the health, body, and mind of athletes, as well as a background in statistics. Injury reports are a delight! Keep an eye on Julie, because her interests vary far and wide within the realm of sports, with an eye for the abstract.
You can find Julie Miller on X and Instagram at @itsmillercrime. She also has two weekly podcast shows, one on True Crime within the world of sports and another on general sports updates, that can both be found here.
