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New Study: At least 25% of NFL players in large recent sample had CTE
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:19 pm
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:19 pm
"At least one in four NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had the degenerative brain disease known as CTE, a new study has revealed."
"The estimate of 25% is on the "low end," said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the study's lead author. The study found that the maximum possible prevalence of CTE was around 97%, but the true rate "is somewhere in the middle," Daneshvar said."
New study found a 25% or higher incidence of CTE in recently deceased NFL player brains
I played tackle football as a kid. I still do some risky sports myself, including whitewater kayaking, single track mountain biking, trail running, and club ski racing (and I still wipe out every once in awhile.) So I don't consider myself a "sissy." But I've told my daughter that I am not going to push my only young grandson to play organized tackle football in middle school, high school, or beyond, when he gets older.
Be honest - are any of y'all concerned about any sons or grandsons of yours playing organized tackle football now or in the future? What do y'all think the game of college football will look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now??
"The estimate of 25% is on the "low end," said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the study's lead author. The study found that the maximum possible prevalence of CTE was around 97%, but the true rate "is somewhere in the middle," Daneshvar said."
New study found a 25% or higher incidence of CTE in recently deceased NFL player brains
I played tackle football as a kid. I still do some risky sports myself, including whitewater kayaking, single track mountain biking, trail running, and club ski racing (and I still wipe out every once in awhile.) So I don't consider myself a "sissy." But I've told my daughter that I am not going to push my only young grandson to play organized tackle football in middle school, high school, or beyond, when he gets older.
Be honest - are any of y'all concerned about any sons or grandsons of yours playing organized tackle football now or in the future? What do y'all think the game of college football will look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now??
This post was edited on 8/25/26 at 2:16 pm
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Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:20 pm to Old School Tex
Ryan clark definitely has it
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:23 pm to Old School Tex
Honestly thought it would be higher than 25%.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:26 pm to PeleofAnalytics
Same
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:28 pm to PeleofAnalytics
quote:
Honestly thought it would be higher than 25%.
quote:
"The estimate of 25% is on the "low end," said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the study's lead author. The study found that the maximum possible prevalence of CTE was around 97%, but the true rate "is somewhere in the middle," Daneshvar said."
This appears to be a careful study, so it looks like the scientific authors based their main finding on the solid data that they had. But as you can see from the lead study author's quote above, he also thinks that the actual CTE rate among NFL players is more than 25%.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:29 pm to Old School Tex
Concussions are real and scary enough.
After watching a kid from the opposing team suffer a spinal injury on a tackle and Life Flighted from the field my SR year, that was plenty enough for me to say no to football for my kids.
And then you take in to account how many kids die every year from heat/heart issues during football…
Call it what you want, but no thanks.
After watching a kid from the opposing team suffer a spinal injury on a tackle and Life Flighted from the field my SR year, that was plenty enough for me to say no to football for my kids.
And then you take in to account how many kids die every year from heat/heart issues during football…
Call it what you want, but no thanks.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:29 pm to Old School Tex
CTE explained JD4+1’s recent actions. Maybe his mom has it too.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:36 pm to billjamin
quote:
Concussions are real and scary enough.
After watching a kid from the opposing team suffer a spinal injury on a tackle and Life Flighted from the field my SR year, that was plenty enough for me to say no to football for my kids.
And then you take in to account how many kids die every year from heat/heart issues during football…
Call it what you want, but no thanks.
I hear you. I volunteered on a neurology ward for a couple of years when I was in college. And I am a semi-retired elder law and special needs attorney. So I have seen a lot of brain injury up close. Very serious life altering stuff for everyone involved. I definitely think its great for kids to be fit and play sports, but the long term risk / reward from playing tackle football for years is pretty high...
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:41 pm to Old School Tex
I would be more curious about the positional breakdowns of the 25%
A cornerbacks helmet might make contact with something 5 times in a game, where as an offensive guards is making contact 70+ times
Either way, there is an obvious trade off of being paid millions to play a collision sport or keep your long term health. Even the guys that don't get their brains scrambled have other injuries that linger with them the rest of their life and effect their quality of life. It's a classic case of what's most important to you- health or money.
I'd bet you can interview a lot of former football players in their 50's and they'd wish they never played
I won't go as far as forbidding my son to play at the high school level, but he'll be encouraged to play other sports growing up. shite, when we were growing up we used our helmets as a weapon. Ear holing a kid was praised. I can remember oklahoma drills as early as third grade where snot came out of my nose and I was seeing stars. Our heads aren't designed for it
A cornerbacks helmet might make contact with something 5 times in a game, where as an offensive guards is making contact 70+ times
Either way, there is an obvious trade off of being paid millions to play a collision sport or keep your long term health. Even the guys that don't get their brains scrambled have other injuries that linger with them the rest of their life and effect their quality of life. It's a classic case of what's most important to you- health or money.
I'd bet you can interview a lot of former football players in their 50's and they'd wish they never played
I won't go as far as forbidding my son to play at the high school level, but he'll be encouraged to play other sports growing up. shite, when we were growing up we used our helmets as a weapon. Ear holing a kid was praised. I can remember oklahoma drills as early as third grade where snot came out of my nose and I was seeing stars. Our heads aren't designed for it
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:41 pm to Old School Tex
Can’t think of too many other sports where a head aimed a couple inches the wrong way can result in a life spent in a wheelchair.
Pass.
Pass.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:42 pm to NFLSU
quote:
Concussions are real and scary enough.
After watching a kid from the opposing team suffer a spinal injury on a tackle and Life Flighted from the field my SR year, that was plenty enough for me to say no to football for my kids.
And then you take in to account how many kids die every year from heat/heart issues during football…
Call it what you want, but no thanks.
Yeah, seeing those brutal hits are amazing... but then you might think if you'd think the same thing if it was someone you know.
I don't know if I would want my nephews playing football; baseball and basketball are way less likely for them to get a "your life is ruined" kind of injury.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:43 pm to NFLSU
quote:
Can’t think of too many other sports where a head aimed a couple inches the wrong way can result in a life spent in a wheelchair.
I've got a son starting the 9th grade and he's small for his age. Every time he goes to practice or plays, I worry about it.
I hope he doesn't play next year, honestly.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:48 pm to Old School Tex
quote:
The NFL "continuously strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts
Is there evidence that Guardian Caps are significantly safer?
I just can't imagine that they do that much, or that any similar protection would actually prevent the brain from moving rapidly within the skull.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:56 pm to NaturalStateReb
quote:
I've got a son starting the 9th grade and he's small for his age. Every time he goes to practice or plays, I worry about it.
I hope he doesn't play next year, honestly.
I understand about your son. If my grandson does play tackle football, I would not say no as the grandpa, but I would worry, and I would keep my fingers crossed.
When I was growing up in Texas, boys were pretty much expected to play football (which I am sure is the case with most of y'all.) I was small too at the time, and I got creamed often. I remember seeing a friend of mine named Casey in a scrimmage right next to me get an ugly forearm compound fracture. But my grandfather was the small town doctor for many years who had dealt with years of football injuries and thus was not thrilled with the game, so my family did not push me to stay in, and I moved on to other things.
My theory is that it is good to get kids involved if you can, in some aerobic lifetime sports which they may continue when they get older. I still see a number of folks in their 60s and 70s still having fun running, mountain biking, and snow skiing, for example.
Posted on 8/25/26 at 1:58 pm to skrayper
Thing is, it's not always the brutal hits.
A kid from my hometown died on the field last year on what appeared to be a routine tackle from behind
A kid from my hometown died on the field last year on what appeared to be a routine tackle from behind
Posted on 8/25/26 at 2:10 pm to NaturalStateReb
quote:
I've got a son starting the 9th grade and he's small for his age. Every time he goes to practice or plays, I worry about it. I hope he doesn't play next year, honestly.
My dad always tells me how much he loved watching me play but how happy he was when it was over.
Good luck and great health to your son!
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