Nearly All Dead NFL Players May Have Had Brain Disease, Study Finds

A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has revealed that up to 97.7% of former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 might have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head.

The research examined 878 former players who passed away during that period, and 235 of them had donated their brains for scientific analysis. Of those donated brains, 215 were found to contain CTE.

In addition to CTE, the study noted a high prevalence of dementia among the brain donors. Lead author Daniel Daneshvar, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, emphasized that NFL players exhibit about a four‑times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease than the general population.

Daneshvar also highlighted that most head impacts responsible for brain damage occur not only in the NFL but at collegiate, high‑school and youth levels. Cumulative hits over a player's career increase the risk of brain disease.

The NFL has long announced initiatives aimed at reducing concussions and head impacts across all levels of the sport. In a recent statement, a league spokesperson said, “The NFL continuously strives to make football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts. We encourage former players to utilize our resources for health screening and treatment.”

The study calls for the NFL to intensify prevention measures and further research into long‑term outcomes of repeated head trauma.

Read the full BMJ study (external link).