Terrifying NFL Discovery: Bombshell New Medical Study Exposes How Many Deceased Players Had CTE
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
A significant study published in the British Medical Journal examined the brain health of players who likely had CTE.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive hits to the head. It can only be diagnosed after a person is already deceased. It is caused by repeated blows to the head, including major concussions and smaller, frequent hits called subconcussive impacts.
The symptoms lead to memory loss, confusion, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and progressive dementia. Football players face a high risk due to decades of repeated collisions.
Hall of Fame linebacker who died by suicide in 2012 at age 43; an examination showed he suffered from it. Ken Stabler was diagnosed with it after his death in 2015.
Former tight end Aaron Hernandez’s post-mortem exams revealed an extreme case of severe CTE for his age.
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A significant study examined brain health outcomes for former professional football players. Careful analysis was conducted on every NFL participant who passed away between 2016 and 2021.
The total group included 878 individuals across a wide range of ages. Brain donations were received from 235 of those former athletes during the research window. However, evidence of CTE was confirmed in 215 of the examined samples.
As a result, a conservative minimum prevalence of 24.5 percent was calculated for the full group of deceased players.
Implications of Elevated Rates for Player Safety
Strong associations were drawn between the cumulative force of hits over a career and the development of CTE.
Furthermore, the lead author described the minimum estimate as alarmingly high compared with rates in the general population. Consequently, calls were issued for continued efforts to reduce repetitive head contact at every level of the sport. Moreover, the NFL issued a statement emphasizing ongoing work to lower concussions and improve long-term player resources. In addition, the players’ association described the data as a sobering reminder of the real risks inherent in the game. As a result, prevention strategies such as limiting practice contact received renewed attention from medical experts.
The NFL has updated rules, improved protective equipment, and tightened medical protocols to reduce and manage brain injuries. They banned helmet-to-helmet hits, blindside blocks, and flying or lowering the head to initiate contact.
Furthermore, kickoffs were moved, and rules changed to reduce high-speed, open-field collisions. It will take years to find out if these changes have made things better for athletes.
