At least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to a study published Tuesday in The BMJ by researchers at Mass General Brigham.
Led by Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the team examined death certificates for 1,712 former players and found that 235 had donated their brains to research. Of those, 215 were diagnosed with CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. Researchers calculated the maximum possible prevalence could reach 97.7% if all non-donors were assumed affected, while a conservative minimum stood at roughly 25%. The study also found a four times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease among NFL players compared with the general population.
The findings follow the NFL's 2016 agreement to a $1 billion settlement with thousands of retired players over concussion-related injuries.