All-cause and disease-specific mortality among male, former elite athletes: an average 50-year follow-up A recent study examined the survival of athletes compared to non-athletes over the course of 50 years. The average life expectancy of the athletes was on average by 5-6 years higher than non-athletes. The athletes died on average at 79 years while the non-sportsman did not come over about 73 years.The work can be found under https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25183628/