Sports can be quite dangerous. Particularly contact sports, where players are allowed to tackle, check, or generally hit their opponents. But there are some non-contact sports out there that can be just as dangerous. Even deadly.
Our list ranges from the possibility of black eyes and scrapes to broken bones and worse.
Football
Consider that nearly every play (except for special teams) begins with at least two lines of absolutely giant men slamming their heads and bodies into each other.
Consider that these days, quarterbacks are as big as linebackers from the golden age. Guys are running 20+ mph flat-out. Punt returns? Forget about it! Blind-side tackles, untouched sacks, diving at the knees, and more are in store for the brave man who wants to play football.
To see how dangerous football is, just check the injury report. The league is so concerned with player safety it seems they make new rules annually. For example, this year, players will be allowed to wear the Gladiator padded helmet in an effort to cut down on concussions.
Think it’s no big deal? Ask Brett Favre how much he remembers of his life.
Rugby
What even is Rugby? To Americans, a description of “Football mixed with soccer, but with no pads at all” will suffice.
So you’d think giant hulking men running full tilt into each other with no pads would be exceptionally dangerous. Is it?
For injuries – yes. For deaths? Figures are hard to come by. But one group of lawyers claim that 400 ex-rugby players died early from traumatic brain injuries. This is one sport you don’t want to play if you plan on getting into rocket science afterwards.
Hockey
Combine incredible speed with giant men, boots that are attached to giant razor blades, and a one-pound weight flying around at 100 miles per hour.
Yeah, hockey is dangerous. All those dangers are before we add the legal ability to slam another poor soul into the boards at 20+ mph. But how dangerous is it, really? Has anyone died from all those pucks and skates flying around?
Yes. At least twice, and we barely avoided several. Bill Masterson was killed by a check in 1968, before the days of helmets.
But since then, we saw American Adam Johnson die from a flying skate to the neck. In 1989, we saw Clint Malarchuk take a skate to the neck, and he only walked away thanks to a Vietnam-vet trainer.
Yeah, hockey is pretty dang dangerous.
Running
Yes, good old fashioned running can be a deadly sport. One study puts the risk of death at 1 per 150,000 participants.
Sounds low? Consider the biggest marathon in the U.S. is the New York City Marathon. In 2022, that race had nearly 48,000 finishers. So in three years, its statistically likely that at least one runner will die in the NYC Marathon.
Now add up all the other marathons in the U.S. Then add up the whole world. Running: more deadly than the NFL!
NASCAR
Put 50 guys in giant steel machines that travel up to 200 mph, all chasing that finish line.
It’s a wonder anyone walks away from a race, but they do. In fact, NASCAR is relatively safe.
The NASCAR Cup Series has seen 28 deaths on the track. The most recent is the most famous of all: Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001.
MMA
Take all the dangers of boxing, but make the gloves smaller and add knees, feet, and grappling.
It doesn’t have to be deadly to be dangerous. Remember Conor McGregor’s ankle giving out like it was made of playdough? Nightmare fuel!
Is it as deadly as boxing? Sources vary, but there have been at least seven deaths since 2019, according to Sportsnaut. We’re no scientists, but the lack of protective gear may make the sport safer than boxing.
Bull Riding
A good bucking bull weighs 1,500 pounds. That’s a lot of angry, horned, and hoofed meat that’s trying to throw off a rider.
And maybe gore him afterwards, to thank him for the trouble. Obviously, riders are at risk of all manner of injuries, up to and including broken necks or getting completely crushed. And the horns. Never forget about those horns, because the bull won’t.
In terms of the professional circuit, 20 riders have died at sanctioned events. In between NASCAR and MMA, you’ll find the danger of angering a bull and then jumping on his back.
Skydiving
You’re probably a little bit mad if your idea of a good time is to get in a giant steel tube, fly it up to 20,000 feet, and then jump right out of it.
You know what the terminal velocity is of your average skydiver? 120 mph! Straight towards the earth, with nothing but a parachute.
The United States Parachute Association has calculated the average fatalities per decade, with the 1970’s being the deadliest: about 42 deaths.
Let’s just say, this is a sport for people who have all their affairs settled before they lift off.
Scuba Diving
For many people, drowning is the scariest death scenario. And if you’re scuba diving and you get in trouble, chances are it’s not a shark that’s going to call you home to heaven.
There are a number of things that can go wrong with equipment, but sometimes divers dig their own watery graves by trying to surface too fast.
One source lists the total number of scuba deaths in just 2018 as 189. That’s a deadly game.
Boxing
In 1982, Boom Boom Mancini killed Duk-koo Kim in the ring. It was memorialized by Warren Zevon thusly:
“When they asked him who was responsible
For the death of do Koo Kim
He said, “Some one should have stopped the fight
And told me it was him.”
They made hypocrite judgements after the fact
But the name of the game is be hit and hit back”
Indeed. A study conducted in 2011 to estimate how many fighters have died in the ring came up with the figure of 1,865 deaths since 1720. Bashing another man’s brains in with your fists is a deadly game, and a sweet science.
Also Read: How to Watch Temper vs. Brueckner on DAZN – Start Time, Price, And Fight Card
Soccer
We can already hear the laughing. Soccer? Dangerous? Ha! It’s just running, and you get a penalty just for touching the other players! Surely it’s not anywhere near as dangerous as football or hockey?
Consider: the FIFA Sudden Death Report of 2020 showed that during a five-year period, there were 617 cases of sudden cardiac arrest.
617. That makes soccer – yes, soccer! – the most dangerous team sport in the world.