Study shows high CTE rates in the NFL

A recent study conducted by researchers at Mass General Brigham and Boston University released August 25 found that of former National Football League (NFL) players who died from 2016 to 2021, 25% had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). 

Eight-hundred-seventy-eight former NFL players died between 2016 and 2021. Researchers were able to examine 235 of the deceased players’ brains, and found CTE in 215 (91.5%) of those brains. This means that at least one in four NFL players have the disease.

CTE, a neurodegenerative disease, has been linked to repeated trauma to the head and is a growing topic of concern for the world of sports. Symptoms of the disease include cognitive impairment such as trouble thinking and memory loss, mood and behavioral issues such as aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation, as well as movement issues regarding balance.

Due to football being a high impact sport, specifically to the upper body and head, there is a higher chance for football players to develop the disease. The game of football has started to introduce new rules and safety precautions to keep players safe. One way safety has become a priority is in equipment, more specifically, helmets.

Joshua Pansegrau, the assistant director of equipment operations for USD, details football helmets and how they have changed to better fit player safety.

“The biggest priority is obviously fit. It’s something in my job that has grown tremendously over the years,” Pansegrau said.

Fitting helmets to players has improved over the years with the help of technology. Teams can scan players’ heads and fit the helmets with the help of 3D printing to better protect an athlete’s brain. 

“It’s a huge game changer,” Pansegrau said.

Outside of helmets, the Coyotes use guardian caps. Guardian caps are another level of padding that is strapped onto a player’s helmet during practice to reduce the total amount of force an athlete’s head is taking. 

The football program also uses the Insight Program, a tracking system put inside the helmets to detail which athletes are taking the most impacts to the head and how much force they are receiving.

“Player safety is always something that will continue to be pushed forward and continue to be a forefront of every equipment room. It’s always our main goal to try to make it as safe as possible,” Pansegrau said.

Due to the effects on mental health the disease has, mental health is also a priority amongst football players and staff.

Tanner Peterson, the coordinator of athlete mental health, addiction & preventative services at USD, discusses student athlete mental health and what he looks out for.

“Some common risk factors I might typically see with athletes is transition. In these times of transition, we see these can spark difficult times for our student athletes… Those struggles might manifest in any number of mental health concerns, but typically those times of transition can be especially challenging,” Peterson says.

Peterson compares mental health to physical health, “Just like we anticipate physical strain with student-athletes, we also want to equip them with the tools to manage the mental and emotional strain of being a student-athlete.”

The department and Peterson specifically teaches student athletes how to regulate their nervous systems and manage mental and emotional strain.

Mental health and its research is continuously being evaluated and discussed. “I feel our biggest shift has come with our student-athletes. I believe our sport ecosystem, both at USD and nationally, has drastically shifted how we approach mental and emotional health within athletics,” Peterson said.

The disease cannot be diagnosed until after death however, so the current rate of CTE in current NFL and football players is unknown.