The Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program released a white paper on Wednesday suggesting that flag football should be adopted as the standard for youth programs until high school.
The report saw signs of "erosion in public support" for football as both youth and high school participation rates fell in 2017 for the fourth consecutive year.
"Some of that decline can be attributed to growing concerns over injuries, particularly those to the brain," the report determined. "In 2016, a UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion Research survey found that 78 percent of American adults do not think it is appropriate for children to participate in tackle football before the age of 14, and that 63 percent believe it is either certainly or probably false that tackle is a safe activity for children before they reach high school.