Study Finds Up to 97.7% of Deceased NFL Players Had CTE
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 25
Study Finds Up to 97.7% of Deceased NFL Players Had CTE
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 25
Summary
878 former NFL players who died from 2016 to 2021 were analyzed, and researchers estimated CTE prevalence at death ranged from a conservative 24.5% to a maximum 97.7%.
235 players donated brains for research, and 215 of those donors had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative disease diagnosable only after death; dementia was also common among donors.
Daniel Daneshvar said repeated head impacts across high school, college and the NFL likely drove the risk, and researchers urged the league to reduce repetitive blows at all levels of football.
The NFL said it is expanding concussion-reduction and player health resources; the findings add to years of scrutiny that led to limits on contact practices and a $1 billion 2016 settlement with former players.