A new study published on Tuesday found that one quarter of former NFL players who died over a recent six-year period had CTE, a result that adds to the long-running concern over head trauma in football. The finding is important not only because of the number itself, but because the study likely undercounts the true rate. It is based on donated brains from deceased players, which means it does not capture every former NFL player who died in that span.
Why the finding matters
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a brain pathology associated with repeated head impacts. Daniel Daneshvar, the study’s lead author and chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham, called the results a wake-up call. He said that, at a minimum, 25 percent of NFL players have this pathology in their brain when they die, and that the sport needs to move toward treating and curing the disease.
The new data also reinforces something researchers have been saying for years: football exposure does not begin in the NFL. Daneshvar said the athletes studied were exposed to head impacts at the youth, high school, and college levels, and that those hits accumulated over time. That broader timeline is part of why CTE remains such a serious issue for the sport at every level.
A problem that reaches beyond the pros
The study arrives at a moment when football is being discussed as an existential question because of head trauma. On Monday, roughly 17,000 high school students in Massachusetts began a new season of football practices. On Tuesday, the NFL Players’ Association emailed members and called the study a sobering reminder and a call to action across the entire football ecosystem.
The union said, “We all share a responsibility to advance research, improve access to care, develop better treatments, and support those affected by the long-term impacts of the game.”
This is not the first time the issue has produced alarming numbers. In 2017, researchers said they found CTE in 110 of the first 111 brains of former NFL players that had been donated for research. The new study does not replace that finding, but it adds another data point suggesting the disease remains a central challenge for the league and the sport overall.
What players are saying now
Safety also came up around the Patriots on Tuesday, when DeMario Douglas and Greg Van Roten discussed helmets and safety caps with reporters. Douglas said he had been using an older model and could feel it when he hit the ground, but that switching to a newer model felt “way better and safer.”
That kind of conversation reflects where football is right now: looking for any practical way to reduce risk while the larger issue remains unresolved. The latest study does not answer every question about CTE in football players, but it does make one point harder to ignore. The problem is real, it is serious, and it reaches far beyond Sundays in the NFL.
