At least 1 in 4 NFL players had brain disease CTE, Mass General Brigham study finds
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Updated: 6:07 AM EDT Aug 25, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Jamy Pombo Sesselman
Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com
At least 1 in 4 NFL players had brain disease CTE, Mass General Brigham study finds
Updated: 6:07 AM EDT Aug 25, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Jamy Pombo Sesselman
Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com
BOSTON —
A Mass General Brigham study has found that one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, at the time of their death
The disease is linked to repetitive hits to the head, even minor hits, over a long period of time. Symptoms often include mood shifts, behavior changes, and, in severe cases, a higher risk of being diagnosed with dementia
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“I had an NFL player in my clinic, a former NFL player, who played for a little over a decade in the league. And, again, the problems with thinking, behavior, attention, concentration, mood, these symptoms that we believe are associated with CTE, we can treat them and people get better. So it’s important to make sure that if you’re a former NFL player or even a former athlete with a lot of that cumulative hit to the head exposure, that you’re getting treated by a neurodegenerative disease expert, and specifically ideally one that specializes in working with athletes,” said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar of Mass General Brigham.
Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed during an autopsy after death. The condition has been identified not only in football players but also in soldiers and individuals who play other contact sports, such as boxing
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