BRAIN GAME

Disturbing Reality Exposed in Bombshell NFL Study

A new study of hundreds of former NFL players has exposed the potential scale of football’s long-term brain injury crisis.

A new study is shedding fresh light on the long-term risks of playing in the NFL, finding that nearly one in four former players whose brains were examined had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Scientists reviewed the cases of 878 ex-NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021. Of those, 215—24.5 percent—were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive neurological disease linked to repeated blows to the head. But the figure may significantly underestimate the true rate. Researchers were unable to examine the brains of 643 other former players who died during the same six-year period, meaning some of those cases could also have involved CTE. CTE is a progressive brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head and can currently be confirmed only after death. Research has found it is extremely rare among people without repeated head impacts. If the study’s findings applied to today’s NFL, at least 400 active players could eventually develop CTE. The NFL said it remains committed to reducing head injuries, while the players’ union told the New York Times the findings are “a sobering reminder” of football’s lasting risks.