Professional athletes live on average seven years longer than the general population.
But not AFL or NRL players.
The two most popular games in Australia are continuing to grapple with the dangers their players face when they take the field.
The NRL recently introduced limited contact in training to protect players from the impact of concussion.
But as of this weekend, AFL players will step onto the field with less protection than before.
From Friday, their default insurance no longer covers head injuries.
"I'm not surprised insurers are going in that direction," Reidar Lystad, from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences at Macquarie University, told AAP.
"Neurodegenerative disease is three times more likely to hit these athletes than the rest of the population."
Dr Lystad studied the mortality rates of AFL and NRL players between 1921 and 2023.
The median age of death was 75.7 years for AFL players and 74.6 years for NRL players.
Further investigation was required, Dr Lystad said, but findings showed consistency with contact and collision resulting in neurodegenerative disease for these athletes.
More than 100 former players have launched a class action lawsuit alleging the AFL is culpable for permanent injuries resulting from concussions and negligence.
The most well-known injury caused by repeated concussions is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.
It results from repeated head knocks to the brain, with symptoms including memory loss, increased aggression and depression, but can only be diagnosed after a person has died.
It's why former AFL player Lance Picioane will donate his brain to science after he dies.
During his playing career at three clubs, Picioane suffered about 10 facial fractures, including to the jaw, cheekbone and eye socket.
He also broke his nose and received about 45 stitches.
"Depressive anxiety was a big thing throughout my playing days, and substance use post-playing days and a little bit during," he said.
"Every sort of five to six days, I'll get a dizzy sort of spell now."
Picioane, who wants the AFL to adopt the NRL's new rule of limited tackling in training, understands why insurance companies are choosing not to provide cover for players.
"There's companies that I couldn't get life insurance through because of my mental health diagnosis," he told AAP.
"If (the AFL) are able to have better physical programming, that would reduce the impact or reduce the hits … then there will be less risk also for the insurance companies."
When the trustee for the AFL Players Association, AMP, sought to renew default superannuation insurance for more than 500 players, the current provider Zurich submitted a renewed tender omitting cover for brain injuries.
"There remains continued widespread uncertainty about the long-term health impacts and risks associated with concussion events from playing high-contact sports, including the subsequent development of (CTE)," Zurich told AAP in a statement.
"Beyond individual or group insurance arrangements, we acknowledge the establishment of the 'Severe Injury Benefit' by the AFL and AFLPA in May 2025, to support players who have suffered a significant cognitive or bodily impairment from playing football."
The players' association accepted the offer from Zurich, whose company purpose and values state: "In an era of unprecedented change, we are determined to shape a future in which we can all thrive."
Zurich was the only insurance company to submit a tender.
NRL Immortal and Hall of Fame inductee Wally Lewis received several head-knocks throughout his career but said he wouldn't change a thing about his playing days.
Despite this, he too welcomes change.
"I loved the game. I felt privileged to have played it," Lewis told AAP in a written statement.
"I will do what I can to bring about change for all Australians like me who are impacted by CTE and to do whatever I can to protect the brains of Australian children."
Lewis said he was hopeful the increased knowledge around the dangers of concussion would lead to a future in which children could play professional sport without the fear of developing CTE.
"We know that repeated head knocks can cause brain damage and we need to work together to implement nationally consistent protocols to counter head injuries in all sports," he said.
