Performance and Survivorship of National Football League Players with Pectoralis Major Injuries

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine return-to-play (RTP), performance and career survivorship for National Football League (NFL) athletes sustaining pectoralis major (PM) injuries with comparison among grades of injury and between nonoperative and operative management. METHODS: Publicly available data from the 1998–2020 NFL seasons were reviewed to identify athletes with PM injuries. Athlete characteristics were collected 1 season before and 2 seasons after injury. Percent of total games played in a season, player efficiency rating (PER), and Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades were compared for the preinjury season and 2 postinjury seasons. Kaplan-Meier survivorship plots were computed for RTP and postinjury career length, whereas a log-rank test was used to compare survivorship differences. RESULTS: In total, 258 PM injuries were reported at a mean age of 27.1 ± 3.3 years. A total of 126 surgical repairs occurred in 48.8% (n = 126) of injuries, with athletes undergoing repair possessing a lower RTP rate and longer time to RTP compared to athletes treated conservatively (P < .001). Survival analysis revealed shorter career length for athletes sustaining PM tears compared to strains (P < .001), although no difference in career length was appreciated on the basis of injury management (P = .980). Defensive linemen and wide receivers had lower PER during their second postinjury seasons (P = .019 and .030, respectively), whereas defensive linemen had lower PFF grades during their second post-injury seasons (P = .044). CONCLUSION: NFL athletes requiring PM repair may experience a lower likelihood of RTP, and longer RTP timing, likely because of higher-grade injuries. Defensive linemen and wide receivers experiencing PM injuries are at risk for diminished performance post-injury. Career length does not appear to be affected based on injury management. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cohort study.