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NFL fans love a good conspiracy theory, and they were treated to a very unique one last season after some people speculated 49ers players were particularly susceptible to injury due to an electric substation located in the vicinity of their practice facility. The team took it seriously enough to run some tests, but it sounds like it can be put to rest based on the result.
Football is an inherently brutal sport, and there’s only so much players can do to avoid falling victim to an injury. With that said, there are plenty of things they can do to minimize the risk of a setback, and teams go to great lengths to ensure they’re able to stay healthy and at the top of their game.
However, earlier this year, a quantum biologist named Peter Cowan asserted the San Francisco 49ers were unknowingly putting themselves at a disadvantage while noting no NFL team had dealt with more injuries since 2014 and identifying a possible culprit: an electric substation located near the franchise’s practice compound.
Low-frequency electromagnetic fields can degrade collagen, weaken tendons, and cause soft-tissue damage at levels regulators call “safe.”
We have a real world case study proving this:
An NFL team whose practice facility sits next to a massive electrical substation.
THREAD 🧵… pic.twitter.com/fOVvrVTu5I
— Peter Cowan | Sunlight is Life (@living_energy) January 6, 2026
It may have sounded whacky at first glance, but Cowan cited “thousands of studies” concerning the effects of the electromagnetic field generated by those kinds of substations. He noted they’ve been shown to “degrade collagen, weaken tendons, and cause soft-tissue damage” while suggesting they were inextricably linked to injuries guys who’ve played for the 49ers have had to deal with.
The team took the speculation seriously enough to hire an expert of its own to take a closer look at the claims, but it does not sound like they’re overly concerned after examining their findings.
49ers GM John Lynch says claims of electromagnetic energy causing injuries are overblown after testing levels generated by a substation
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Current and former 49ers players including Jon Feliciano and George Kittle publicly stated they thought there was some credence to the electromagnetic theory (the latter noted there were once trees next to what is officially known as “Northern Receiving Station” that were unable to grow leaves before they were cut down).
The team could have simply dismissed the argument as quackery and attempted to move on, but according to The Athletic, it took the claims seriously enough to recruit an expert who was invited to visit the facility and conduct a survey to determine if there were any red flags worth being concerned about.
Over the weekend, 49ers GM John Lynch said the team hired a consultant who’s spent 45 years studying the impact electromagnetic energy can have on humans to dive into the matter, and he does not seem overly concerned when you consider he used the words “a big nothing burger” to sum things up.
Lynch shed some light on the findings, saying:
“We’re safe. We’re in a safe place of work, the levels I think I read in are 400 times less than unsafe zones. So it’s a normal place of work, it’s a normal gym. We are safe, we’re healthy and we feel really good about that.
That was important to us. Not just to turn a blind eye but to look into it because it’s our players’ wellness. And not just our players’ wellness, it’s coaches and staff, all that.”
If the substation is not the cause, there are still questions about why the 49ers have led the league in injuries over the course of the past decade or so, and Lynch noted the team spent $9 million on a renovation centered around the addition of hot tubs and ice baths while hiring three more physical therapists ahead of the upcoming campaign.