Former NFL players faced four times higher neurodegenerative death rate, study finds

At least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, according to a new study released Tuesday.

Researchers examined brain donations from 235 of the 878 former NFL players who died during the period and detected CTE in 215 of the donated brains.

Because not every player donated their brain, researchers estimated that at least a quarter of all 878 players had the degenerative disease, which can only be definitively diagnosed after death.

CTE is linked to repeated blows to the head and can cause memory problems, dementia, mood disorders and headaches.

Daniel Daneshvar, the study's lead author, said NFL players have “about a four times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease than the general population.”

Researchers said the findings highlight risks from repeated head impacts beginning long before players reach the NFL.

“The bulk of the head impacts that these former NFL players experienced didn’t occur at the NFL level,” Daneshvar said, adding that many occurred during college, high school and youth football.

An NFL spokesperson said the league “continuously strives to make the game of football safer”, including through measures aimed at reducing concussions and head impacts.

The researchers called for further reductions in contact during practices across all levels of football.