Neither the New England Patriots nor the Seattle Seahawks will be using the San Francisco 49ers’ practice facility ahead of Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara-and while that might raise some eyebrows given recent conversations around player health, the decision was made long before any of those concerns went viral.
Just like in Super Bowl 50 a decade ago, when Levi’s Stadium first hosted the big game, the NFL has opted to keep both teams away from the 49ers’ home base during the lead-up to the championship. Instead, the AFC champion Patriots will prepare at Stanford University, while the NFC champion Seahawks will get their work in at San Jose State. According to a Patriots spokesperson, those plans were locked in well ahead of time.
But that hasn’t stopped speculation from swirling-especially as questions resurface about a nearby electrical substation located right next to the 49ers’ stadium and practice fields. The theory, which has been gaining traction online, suggests that long-term exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields from the substation could be contributing to the team’s ongoing injury woes.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just idle internet chatter. In 2025 alone, the 49ers lost an eye-popping $95 million in salary cap value due to injuries-more than any other team in the league. That number is hard to ignore, and it’s what’s fueling the conversation around whether something more than bad luck might be at play.
Enter Peter Cowan, a board-certified quantum biology practitioner, whose research into electromagnetic fields and human health has become a focal point in this discussion. Cowan’s theory-that chronic exposure to the substation’s low-frequency EMFs could be weakening players’ bodies-caught fire on social media following George Kittle’s season-ending Achilles tear in the Niners’ recent playoff win over the Eagles.
Now, the 49ers are taking a closer look. General manager John Lynch confirmed the team is actively investigating the potential link between the substation and the rash of injuries.
“Because it deals with, allegedly, the health and safety of our players, you have to look into everything,” Lynch said during a press conference alongside head coach Kyle Shanahan. “Our guys have been... we’ve been reaching out to anyone and everyone to see if a study does exist. We will look into it, we have.”
This isn’t the first time the substation has raised concerns. Former 49ers tight end Delanie Walker, who played in San Francisco from 2006 to 2012, recently shared that players were uneasy about the facility even back then.
“That’s been an issue since I’ve been there,” Walker said on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast. “They talked about moving that electrical substation... It was said that it was giving people cancer.”
Walker described a surreal and unsettling atmosphere around the facility, claiming you could “feel the energy” in the air. He even recalled a moment when a transformer exploded during practice.
“That s*** sounded like a f***ing bomb went off,” he said. “I was like: ‘This is dangerous.’
But they’re not going to move it.”
According to Walker, the area around the substation seemed to have trouble sustaining plant life. “Everything dies where the power station is,” he said. He also claimed that team doctors had visited the facility to discuss potential health risks and that players may have even signed waivers acknowledging those concerns.
“They would start telling us: this may cause cancer, this is a study they’re doing,” Walker said. “I heard they were like: ‘Oh it may make your ligaments weak,’ and I’m like: ‘God damn, that’s crazy.’”
Whether or not there’s a direct link between the substation and the 49ers’ injury struggles remains to be seen. But what’s clear is that the team is no longer brushing aside the conversation. And with the spotlight of the Super Bowl now shining on Santa Clara, this issue-once whispered about in locker rooms-has become part of the broader conversation about player safety in the NFL.