Researchers led teams at Boston University, Mass General Brigham, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation in the largest mortality study of professional football players to date. They studied 19,824 athletes who appeared in at least one NFL game and debuted between 1960 and 2019. Using career records, position and appearance data, and the National Death Index, they analyzed causes of death among 1,994 players who had died; the results appeared in eClinicalMedicine.
Overall, 178 of the deceased players had died of neurodegenerative disease: 106 from dementia, 39 from Parkinson’s disease and 33 from ALS. Neurodegenerative mortality was four times higher than in the general population, with dementia and Parkinson’s mortality around 3.8 times higher. The study showed a dose–response pattern: players with careers longer than five years had about double the risk of neurodegenerative death compared with those who played one to four seasons. Players in speed positions had roughly twice the dementia rate of non-speed players, a pattern the authors link to greater cumulative g-force exposure; linemen had lower neurodegenerative and dementia mortality.
Although NFL players had lower cancer and cardiovascular deaths—attributed to physical fitness, regular exercise, access to medical care and a selection-through-athletic-resilience-survivor (STARS) effect—the higher neurodegenerative mortality remained notable. Senior coauthor Jesse Mez said a fourfold increase in dementia rates from a presumed environmental cause is immense and that brain bank studies indicate chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the primary explanation; he also emphasized the dose–response link. The study received funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging, and the Maloney/Carpenter Trauma-Related Neurodegenerative Disease Research Fund.
Difficult words
- mortality — number of deaths in a group
- neurodegenerative — disease that causes progressive nerve cell damage
- dementia — loss of memory and thinking skills
- dose-response — relationship where more exposure increases effect
- cumulative — growing by successive additions over time
- exposure — being in contact with something harmful
- g-force — measurement of acceleration relative to gravity
- lineman — player who plays on the offensive linelinemen
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What changes to player safety or training might follow from evidence of higher neurodegenerative mortality? Give reasons from the article.
- The study found lower cancer and cardiovascular deaths but higher neurodegenerative deaths. Why might these contrasting findings matter for how we view athlete health?
- How could the dose-response link between career length and neurodegenerative death affect advice to young athletes about choosing positions or career length?
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