NFL: Study Finds Higher Prevalence of Brain Disease Among Deceased Players
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Brain disease in dead NFL players ‘higher than previously shown’
Image source:
Getty Images
Image caption:
Brain scans of a former NFL player who was diagnosed with CTE
By Michael Short
BBC Sport senior journalist
Published 25 August 2026
As many as 97.7% of NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 could have had brain disease related to repeated blows to the head, according to a new study.
Researchers examined 878 former players who died during that period, with 235 having donated their brains to research.
Of these, 215 were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease which can only be diagnosed post-mortem.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal (external link), also revealed a high prevalence of dementia among brain donors.
"We and others have shown that in NFL players, specifically, there is about a four times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease than the general population," said the report’s lead author Daniel Daneshvar, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
"These findings indicate that NFL players have a higher prevalence of CTE at death than has been previously shown in multiple community-based studies."
Researchers calculated a "conservative minimum" of CTE prevalence among those who died in the six-year period to be 24.5% – rising to a "maximum" of 97.7%.
They are calling on the NFL to implement preventive measures to reduce repetitive head impacts at all levels of the sport.
"The bulk of the head impacts that these former NFL players experienced didn’t occur at the NFL level," Daneshvar said. ** "They occurred at the collegiate level and at the high school level and, in many cases, the youth level. All of those cumulative hits to the head added up to result in an increased risk."**
An NFL spokesperson stated:
"The NFL continuously strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts. The NFL remains committed to ensuring that the NFL community has access to a robust – and expanding – set of resources to enhance their physical and mental well-being. We encourage former players to utilize these resources to identify and seek treatment when they are concerned about their health."
CTE among American football players has been a growing concern in recent years. In 2011, the NFL implemented limitations on contact practices. Following a long-running class action, in 2016 the NFL agreed to a $1bn (£700m) settlement with more than 5,000 former players.
