Stat of The Week: NFL Criminality Hugely Exaggerated

The comparative arrest rates of NFL players and the general public might be surprising

It is easy to get the impression that the off-the-field hobbies of the typical NFL player include domestic violence, child abuse, dogfighting, and brawling in stripclub parking lots. “National Felon League” and all that. Well, according to a new study, the data does not support the popular perception of rampant criminality among professional football players. It turns out that you, the general public, are twice as bad.

For every year between 2000 and 2013, the total arrest rate for the general population was significantly higher than the total arrest rate for NFL players. For example, the total arrest rate for the general population was 4,889 arrests per 100,000 people in 2013; the total arrest rate for NFL players was 3,740. For most years, the total arrest rate for the general population was one and a half to two times as high as the total rate for NFL players.

So there you go, Soccer Moms. Here’s a graph:

source: University of Texas at Dallas

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