🌅 NFL Players Are More Likely to Die of a Brain Disease

SOURCE

Luster et al. (2026)

WHAT TO KNOW

• A new study by researchers at Boston University suggests NFL players are four times more likely than the general population to die of a neurodegenerative disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly referred to by its acronym, ALS), dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. The authors describe the fourfold increase in risk as “immense,” comparing it to heavy lead exposure, which carries a roughly two to three times greater risk of dementia. The study is the largest ever analysis of mortality among NFL players, including data from 20,000 current and former players.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The researchers found NFL players have lower mortality on average than the general population—including lower chances of death from cancer or cardiovascular disease—which the authors attribute to the athletes’ superior physical fitness. However, the authors also say that disparity only highlights NFL players’ increased risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease, since their heightened physical fitness should mean they’re also better protected against brain diseases like dementia. When the researchers accounted for other known risk factors, NFL players were still three times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than the general population.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The authors say the increased risk of death from a neurodegenerative disease among NFL players is primarily caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (also commonly referred to by its acronym, CTE). Research shows CTE can lead to depression, loss of judgment, loss of impulse control, rage, memory loss, and dementia. In 2023, Boston University’s CTE Center reported finding CTE in the brains of 345 out of 376 studied former NFL players (92%). For context, a 2018 study by BU researchers analyzing 164 brains of deceased men and women found just one had CTE (0.6%). The kicker: the lone case was a former college football player.