At Least 25 Percent Of Dead NFL Players Diagnosed With CTE In Sample, Study Says

August 25, 2026 11:22 AM ET According to a study published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal, at least one in four NFL players who passed away between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease.The study focused on CTE and its prevalence among NFL players. Results show that out of 878 players who made at least one appearance in an NFL game and died in the study’s six-year window, at least 25 percent had CTE. (RELATED: 49ers Owner Jed York Arrested After Allegedly Trying To Pay Prostitute)Only after death can CTE be diagnosed, so the majority of research depends on brains that are donated by families or the players themselves. The study’s samples were donations from 2008-2021, with 93 percent being diagnosed with the disease. The sample was n