A new study finds that at least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can be confirmed only after death.
Across reports, researchers describe a substantially higher rate of CTE than what is typically seen in the general population. NBC, CBS, Yahoo Sports, Daily Maverick and The Guardian all focus on the 2016–2021 period and report that 215 of 235 donated brains from former players in that window showed signs of CTE, based on researchers’ analysis of post-mortem donations. Channel NewsAsia reports the same core finding.
ABC News adds additional context by reporting a broader analysis covering 1,712 former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2021. The outlets consistently describe CTE as linked to repeated blows to the head, including concussions, and cite symptoms reported in CTE research such as problems with memory, attention, mood and cognition, while noting definitive diagnosis occurs after death.
