As the NFL season commences, a study published in the British Journal of Medicine has brought renewed attention to the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among former professional football players. Researchers examined the brains of 235 former players who died between 2016 and 2021. The study found that 215 of these individuals—approximately 91.5% of the sample—showed evidence of the degenerative brain condition.

When placed in the context of all former NFL players who passed away during that five-year window, the 215 individuals diagnosed with CTE represented 24.5% of the total deaths. CTE is a progressive brain disease associated with repeated head impacts, and its presence in former athletes has become a central point of concern for medical professionals and sports advocates.

While the data provides a clear look at the brains donated to the study, the interpretation of these findings varies. Some observers argue that the high percentage of CTE in the sample highlights an urgent public health crisis that necessitates a fundamental change in how the public consumes the sport. Others note that because the brains were donated, the sample may be skewed toward individuals who experienced symptoms during their lives, potentially overstating the prevalence of the condition across the entire population of former players. The study serves as the latest contribution to a long-standing discussion about player safety and the inherent risks of collision-based sports.