Study Estimates CTE in About 75% of Former NFL Players Who Died From 2008 to 2023
A new study published in JAMA Network Open estimates that approximately 75% of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a figure adjusted for potential biases in brain donation data.
Butte Bozeman, MT, October 28, 2026 —
A study published in JAMA Network Open estimates that approximately 75% of former National Football League players who died between 2008 and 2023 had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. The estimate was adjusted for potential biases in brain donation data, according to the study summary.
The reported figure applies to former players who died during that period. It is not presented as an estimate for all former NFL players. The summary does not provide the number of players included, the study’s detailed methods, or the specific adjustments researchers used to account for possible bias.
Brain donation data can be subject to potential biases, and the study’s estimate accounts for that issue. However, the information provided does not specify how the adjustment changed the estimate or how uncertainty around the figure was assessed. The study summary also does not identify the researchers or provide further results.
The estimate describes the prevalence of CTE in the group examined; the summary does not establish that the finding applies to people outside that group. It also does not provide information about symptoms, individual diagnoses, or the circumstances of the players’ deaths. Those details were not included in the available summary.
The finding is therefore best understood within its stated scope: an adjusted estimate concerning former NFL players who died from 2008 through 2023. Additional information about the sample and methodology was not provided in the summary, limiting what can be reported about how the estimate was produced.
Story summarized from the original created by Diana Anos, Nadia Kounang on www.kxlf.com, see more information here.
