Aug 31, 2026 · 15 min
CTE study raises alarm while exposing major limits
Football is here – and so is a new study on CTE
The findings highlight serious brain-injury concerns for former NFL players without showing how common CTE is among today’s athletes.
- 1Researchers found CTE in at least 25 percent of examined former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021.
- 2CTE requires postmortem brain-tissue analysis, making diagnosis during life impossible and symptom-based conclusions uncertain.
- 3The study’s older sample cannot predict current NFL risk, while treatable conditions may explain some related symptoms.
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Sullivan explains why treatable conditions can produce symptoms associated with CTE, even though CTE itself cannot currently be diagnosed in living people.
The brief
Nate Rott opens with football’s central contradiction: the sport’s appeal is inseparable from concern about repeated head impacts and lasting brain injury.
Becky Sullivan explains a study of former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021, finding CTE in at least 25 percent, with estimates potentially much higher.
The diagnosis is definitive only after death, and symptoms such as memory loss, depression, mood swings, and personality changes can have several causes.
The sample may overrepresent people suspected of having CTE, while changes in helmets, concussion recognition, practice rules, and kickoffs make today’s NFL difficult to compare.
The sharpest takeaway is practical: CTE remains incurable, but sleep apnea, depression, high blood pressure, and low testosterone can produce treatable symptoms.
Featuring
National Football League
Junior Seau
Alzheimer's disease
American footballListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.