Growth of NFL’s extremely big men raises health issues

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Casey Hampton is listed at 325 pounds. The way his jersey stretches tautly across his biceps (and belly) suggests the real number is north of that. Asked for his actual weight, the Steelers nose tackle says, “It’s 300 and change. Lots of change.”

Hampton is one of 26 players on the Green Bay and Pittsburgh Super Bowl rosters who tip the scale at more than 300 pounds — an eye-popping number made even more startling when you put it in historical context.

Green Bay’s first Super Bowl team, 44 years ago, didn’t have a guy heavier than 265 pounds.

Meanwhile, Mean Joe Greene, at 275 pounds, was the biggest player on the Steelers when they won their second of six championships in 1976.

All this largesse was roundly joked about and brushed off during Super Bowl media day Tuesday — as good a day as any to celebrate all the excesses that America’s favorite sport has to offer.

But it also brings up some uncomfortable questions. Namely: How’d these guys all get so big, and could any of this really be good for them?

“In terms of food, yeah, they eat tons of food during their careers and they get very big,” said dietitian Michele Macedonio, who has worked for the Cincinnati Bengals. “And if they don’t do something to get back to their healthful weight, their rate of disease is very high.”

As for those who are using more than food, well, that’s a statistic that almost certainly won’t ever be properly measured.

The supplement Creatine helps stimulate muscle growth and has long been considered an integral part of any NFL player’s bodybuilding regimen. But even that has its limits, while the growth rate of the players — even more noticeable while walking among them on media day when they’re not covered in shoulder pads and helmets — has been more or less exponential.

According to stats provided to The Associated Press by Stats LLC, there was one 300-pound player in the league in 1970, three in 1980, 94 in 1990, 301 in 2000 and 394 at the start of last season.

Meanwhile, the NFL does not test for human-growth hormone and has a banned-substances list that’s considered laughably short by the people who run Olympic-style testing programs.

In very little danger of getting his butt kicked by anyone is the Packers starting nose tackle, B.J. Raji, who’s listed at 337. His nickname: “The Freezer” — a name he appreciates even though he was an infant when fellow appliance and big man William “Refrigerator” Perry was playing.

Raji returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown in the NFL championship game against the Bears.