The San Francisco 49ers have spent the better part of a decade explaining injuries away with familiar answers. This week, a far stranger explanation found its way into the NFL discourse, not because it was verified, but because it attempted to connect the dots that fans and players have been staring at for years.
A Viral Theory Offers a Unique Explanation for the 49ers’ Injury History
The theory began circulating on X after researcher Peter Cowan pointed to San Francisco’s long-running injury data and argued that none of the usual explanations truly fit. Since moving to Levi’s Stadium in 2014, the 49ers have consistently ranked among the most injured teams in the league, finishing in the top five in adjusted games lost in 10 of the past 11 seasons.
Cowan’s argument is not that football is suddenly unsafe in Santa Clara, but that one variable may be unique to the franchise. He claims that chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields from an electrical substation near the team’s practice facilities could be contributing to soft tissue breakdown over time.
To support that idea, he shared readings taken with a Gaussmeter that showed elevated milligauss levels near the fields and inside team facilities, higher than what is considered typical background exposure.
The San Francisco 49ers are statistically the most injured team in the NFL over the past decade.
Since moving to Levi’s Stadium in 2014:
Top-5 in Adjusted Games Lost for 10 of 11 seasons
7-8 full Achilles/patellar ruptures (league avg: 2-3/year TOTAL)
40+ major hamstring/calf…
— Peter Cowan | Sunlight is Life (@living_energy) January 6, 2026
There is no scientific consensus linking electromagnetic field exposure to NFL injury rates, and no peer-reviewed research directly connects the 49ers’ facilities to their extensive list of injuries. Even Cowan frames the idea as a theory rather than a conclusion. Still, it gained traction because it attempted to explain a pattern that has frustrated the organization for years.
That data lines up with a timeline many fans know all too well. In 2025 alone, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner all missed significant time.
The 2024 season was defined by Christian McCaffrey’s Achilles injury and long absences from Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. The only recent exception came in 2023, when a healthier roster helped carry San Francisco to the Super Bowl.
Part of the reason the theory resonated is that it echoed something players themselves have acknowledged in passing. None of the usual explanations, like turf, scheme, or bad luck, seemed to satisfy the discussion entirely. Cowan pointed to comments from retired guard Jon Feliciano in 2025, when he admitted the topic had come up inside the locker room.
“Players have joked around about there being an electrical substation right next to the practice field and how that has led to the Niners’ injury problems.”
That quote does not validate the claim, but it does show the idea was not invented out of thin air. Whether coincidence or causation, the 49ers’ injury timeline remains difficult to ignore. San Francisco was the most injured team in the league in 2024 and remained among the most injured in 2025, with only one notably healthy season during that span.
That year happened to end in a Super Bowl appearance.
