Updated

A study of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 estimates that about three in four may have had CTE, a brain disease caused by repeated head injuries. The researchers also estimate that around one in four of the former football players had dementia, a common feature of late-stage CTE. The findings, published by Smithsonian Magazine on October 30, 2026, add to the growing body of research linking football to degenerative brain disease.