When the NFL lockout ended last week, two of the substantial victories for players included limiting the number of hits and amount of contact in team practices and doing away with the proposed notion of an extended 18-game season. The moves suggest that after decades of devastating concussions and truncated careers, the National Football League is finally starting to realize that big hits may not be so good for business after all.

The emphasis on safety was clearly evident last season, when the NFL began seriously cracking down on illegal helmet-to-helmet contact – i.e. when a player launches himself at another player’s head by using his own helmet as a blunt weapon for delivering a punishing blow. On a single Sunday afternoon last year, three separate incidents of helmet-to-helmet contact occurred, with five players total having to leave the game due to concussions following impact. The league immediately took notice and fined the three guilty assailants a total of $175,000 for these hits, while also warning that suspensions will replace these fines in the future. For the NFL, it was a proactive way to try and limit the alarming number of concussions that occur every season and linger well after a player retires.

The evidence is impossible to ignore. There’s already a long list of ex-players who have passed away at young ages due to severe brain damage. The condition, known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), is a progressive disease that leaves the brain functioning like that of an Alzheimer’s sufferer in his late eighties. According to an article in the Miami Herald, depression and lack of impulse control are both symptoms of CTE, evident in both the autopsies and actions of players such as former Eagles great Andre Waters - who committed suicide at age 44 – and even 21-year-old college player Owen Thomas, who did the same this past April.

Players must recognize the constant danger of their profession; they’re the ones out there taking a beating every Sunday. And of course, football is inherently an incredibly violent and dangerous sport. The improvements to player safety that resulted from the lockout seem to be a step in the right direction. But what do you think? Has the league gone far enough in protecting its players, or too far in altering the integrity of the sport?

(A portion of this story was previously published as “Unnecessary Roughness” on The Responsibility Project on 11/2/10)