Hockey players are the toughest of the bunch, but i’m sympathetic to a lot of NFL players with injuries. The physics of the game and the playing surfaces in the NFL are so unforgiving, it’s just harder to play injured. An NFL lineman playing 100lbs over where his body wants to be, if he plants his leg wrong in the turf, there is so much torque that impacts his already stressed tendons and ligaments.
Now don’t confuse that with certain guys like this WR from Baltimore who refuses to play if the temp is under 45 degrees…