As fans across the country anticipate Sunday’s big game, a new study finds that career NFL players have a 38 percent higher risk of dying younger compared with those who played in only a few games. The mortality rate difference was statistically insignificant, but still raises key questions. The results are “suggestive but not definitive,” said Atheendar Venkataramani, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, and lead author on the study.