Was there a comparison to the history of football? Back when they wore leather helmets etc.?
Safety equipment and rules to protect players are better today, but today’s players are bigger, faster, stronger, and hit a lot harder.
In those days they did not do "Head tackles," "Spearing," or play on rock-hard surfaces. In "Rugby" or "Australian Rules", helmets are not used. Those games are just as rough as American Football. Wonder what their head injury stats look like?
What about Soccer? Those look like pretty hard shots to me, even if the rest of the game is like watching varnish dry.