When Football and Families Collide: What a New CTE Study Shows

Researchers have published a large retrospective study in The BMJ that estimates how common chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was at death among former National Football League players. The analysis used death records and brain-bank data for players who died between 2016 and 2021 and found that at minimum 24.5% of those players had CTE at death, while the authors noted that the true figure could be much higher, up to 97.7%. In a broader window from 2008 to 2021, 1,712 former players were identified and 338 brains were studied; of those donors, 315 were diagnosed with CTE. Although not every decedent’s brain was available, the study has been described as one of the most informative estimates to date.

Advanced CTE (stage IV) was present in many donors and was linked with clinician‑diagnosed dementia and a higher dementia prevalence. Families and parents have been affected by these findings, and some have re-evaluated choices about youth tackle football while others continue to support the sport for cultural or personal reasons. Continued research is planned to improve diagnosis during life and to clarify the long‑term risks of repeated head impacts.