New study says roughly 3 in 4 deceased NFL players from 2008 to 2023 had CTE
FILE-A detail shot of an NFL shield logo painted on the field prior to an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty
Nearly 3 out of 4 NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of their death, according to a new study.
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers noted that most knowledge regarding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in National Football League (NFL) players is derived from autopsy-based studies on voluntarily donated brains.
Both brain donor and nondonor NFL players who died between January 2008 and December 2023 were included in this research, with data examined between November 2025 and April 2026.
NFL CTE study
Dig deeper:
The study evaluated 2,362 deceased former NFL players. Of those players, 396 donated their brains and 1,966 didn’t.
The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of CTE neuropathology at death and all-cause dementia history among former NFL players.
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After accounting for differences in brain donation practices, researchers estimated that 74.5% of the former players had CTE neuropathology at death between 2008 and 2023.
Researchers also estimated that 27.2% of the former NFL players had dementia during their lifetime, a figure they explained potentially underestimates its prevalence.
Data was gathered using mortality data on all deceased NFL players between 2008 and 2023, and estimated brain donation among individuals with vs without clear cognitive symptoms.
In their study, researchers noted that also estimating the prevalence of CTE in football players at lower levels of play, like high school or college, will be important to better define the extent of the disease, but the team added that it’s significantly challenging to do so because of a lack of available data.
What is CTE?
The backstory:
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease connected with exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHIs), like those from participation in contact sports like football, military combat exposure, intimate partner violence, and other sources, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.