Concerning New Study Reveals How Ex-NFL Players’ Suicide Rates Compare To Other Sports
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
A new study from Harvard has raised concerns about the mental health of former NFL players. Researchers found that suicide rates among ex-NFL athletes were much higher than those of former NBA and MLB players between 2011 and 2019.
The findings come from Harvard’s Football Players Health Study and were published in the Journal of Neurotrauma. The study tracked deaths of former NFL, NBA, and MLB players over 40 years, starting in 1979. In total, 101 former athletes from the three leagues died by suicide.
The biggest change came in the final decade of the study. From 2011 to 2019, former NFL players made up a much larger share of those deaths. During that time, ex-NFL players died by suicide at a rate 2.6 times higher than former NBA and MLB players.
Why The Suicide Numbers Changed After 2011
Study co-author Rachel Grashow said the findings should not be blamed on just one cause. She explained that head injuries alone do not fully explain the higher suicide rates. Instead, she pointed to a combination of physical and mental health problems many former players face after they retire.
Grashow cited a 2024 study that found about one-third of former NFL players deal with depression, low testosterone, and sleep apnea, and those issues link to higher rates of self-harm thoughts than CTE. A few years back, former NFL RB Willis McGahee also admitted he struggled with suicidal thoughts after retirement due to losing a sense of purpose.
Doctors can only diagnose CTE after death. Several well-known former NFL players later showed signs of the disease. Junior Seau died by suicide in 2012, and doctors later confirmed he had CTE. Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling also died by suicide and were later diagnosed with the condition.
Grashow said the timing matters. “We believe 2011 was a pivotal year for that conversation,” she told the Harvard School of Public Health. She pointed to growing public awareness of brain injuries and repeated head trauma in football.
Co-author Marc Weisskopf said the numbers could also be influenced by changes in how deaths are reported. He explained that after 2010, medical examiners may have labeled more deaths as suicides because awareness of head injuries increased. He also mentioned the “Werther effect,” which suggests that widely reported suicides can lead to copycat cases.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association responded by encouraging retired players to get help if they need it. The NFLPA said it supports research-based solutions and urges players to use the health resources available to them. NFL wellness executive Dr. Nyaka NiiLampti added that the league wants former players to feel supported and know they are not alone.
