NFL Players Know CTE Risks and Play Anyway — SkimNews
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- ESPN's survey of more than 30 active and retired NFL players found all were aware of CTE to at least some degree, with some treating it as dark humor — Steelers safety DeShon Elliott joked about "drawing a blank" and blaming the disease.
- Vikings guard Will Fries, 28, mitigates his risk with a fish-heavy omega-3 diet, blue-light-blocking glasses, and eight-plus hours of sleep, while telling ESPN: "your football life is short and then you've got the rest of your life to live."
- Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson, 26, signed a three-year, $75 million extension weeks after telling ESPN the financial legacy for his family outweighs CTE risk: "if CTE is a consequence of that, then so be it."
- A British Medical Journal study published this summer determined at least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE at death; a separate January study found former NFL player suicide rates were 2.6 times higher than NBA and MLB athletes from 2011 to 2019.
- Former Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland had CTE when he died by suicide, researchers confirmed in July, while the family of ex-49ers star Aldon Smith — who died suddenly at 36 in June — awaits results after donating his brain to Boston University's CTE Center.
- NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills, in his ninth year on the job, outlined three league priorities: continuing CTE research, preventing self-diagnosis while treating known symptoms, and reducing head contact through rules and equipment like Guardian Caps.
- Retired 17-year NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who announced in March 2016 he will donate his brain for CTE study, criticized Giants rookie Cam Skattebo for initially calling CTE "an excuse" on a podcast before apologizing for a "tasteless joke."
Why it matters: For today's NFL players, the CTE trade-off is now explicit: the draft class that watched "Concussion" as teenagers is signing $75 million extensions while research confirms 25%+ of deceased former players had the disease. The NFL's response — research, no self-diagnosis, reduce contact — leaves the risk calculus entirely in players' hands, with financial pressure as the dominant lever.
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