New Study: Three-Quarters of Ex-NFL Players Who Died Between 2008-2023 Diagnosed with CTE

A new study has found that 75 percent of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease.

The research, published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, was conducted by scientists affiliated with Boston University, Mass General Brigham, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation.

This finding follows a separate study from August by some of the same researchers, which estimated that CTE was present in one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021.

CTE can only be definitively diagnosed posthumously, making studies reliant on brain donations from deceased players or their families.