Cause of Death: Football

Those of you interested in the violence/football discussion may want to read this article. The author points out the alarming number of football players dying because of brain injuries, like this:

Cases like that of Nathan Stiles (reported by ESPN’s Outside the Lines series) drive such discussion. An A student, beloved by his church congregation, Nathan eluded tacklers like an avatar in a video game. In his final football game in September 2010, he covered the last thirty yards alone, leaving his would-be tacklers behind, a hero to his team and Kansas town. That night, he lay in a hospital bed, lost to the world. By the next morning, he had passed away, the homecoming king dead from a bleeding brain.

Do the risks outweigh the rewards of playing this game? Has something changed in this sport from 20 years ago?