Study finds brain disease rates four times higher in former NFL players

A new study has found that former NFL players are about four times more likely to die from brain disease than the general population. Researchers from Boston University and other institutions looked at nearly 20,000 players. They published their findings in 2024. Former players were 3.8 times more likely to die from dementia and 3.88 times more likely to die from Parkinson's disease. Among players who died before age 50, the rate of ALS deaths was 42 times higher than expected. Players who had longer careers faced double the risk compared to those who played fewer seasons. At least one in four players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE, a brain disease linked to repeated head injuries. Overall, however, former players died less often from cancer, heart disease, and suicide than the general population.