My friends and I have often debated whether the average IQ in the NFL is higher or lower than the average of the general population. Conventional wisdom probably holds that NFL players have below average intelligence. I always argued the contrary position, that NFL players would score above average on an intelligence test. I figured there was something to the mental aspects of the game that would favor smart players. I also figured that going to college might lead to a higher score.
So, there is actually some evidence to answer this question. The Wonderlic Test is administered to potential NFL players before the draft. The same test is also administered to all kinds of people entering various professions. The average score on the Wonderlic is twenty, which is supposed to correspond to the average IQ of 100. A recent ESPN article shows the average Wonderlic scores for NFL players by position; it provides some sample questions too. It turns out that the average score for an NFL player is actually twenty-one, which is exactly the same average score among American workers.
Now I would really like to know how a person’s Wonderlic Test score compares to the scores of real IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS.) How accurate is the Wonderlic Test anyway?
Links:
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020228.htmlhttp://www.wonderlic.com/
