Marshawn Kneeland Diagnosed With Stage 1 CTE
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- Marshawn Kneeland, a 24-year-old Dallas Cowboys defensive end, was diagnosed with stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy through a postmortem brain tissue analysis by Boston University's CTE Center after his death in November 2025.
- Boston University's CTE Center director Dr. Ann McKee said the diagnosis was unsurprising, noting the center has found CTE in nearly half of athletes studied who died before age 30.
- The NFL agreed to a $1bn (£700m) settlement after being sued by more than 5,000 former players, with over 21,000 ex-players potentially eligible for compensation.
- Kneeland was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 draft, played 18 games with four starts, and began playing tackle football at age 7 before starring at Western Michigan University.
- Dr. Chris Nowinski, co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, said Kneeland 'played in the modern era of concussion protocols and better helmets, and yet he still developed CTE,' arguing current athletes face no lower risk than previous generations.
- Boston University's CTE Center clarified that a postmortem CTE diagnosis is not known to be a risk factor for suicide, emphasizing that the cause of suicide is 'complex.'
Why it matters: Nowinski's pointed observation that Kneeland developed CTE despite modern concussion protocols and improved helmets directly undercuts the league's safety narrative — the NFL's $1bn settlement and 345-of-376 CTE detection rate among studied former players underscore that exposure, not era, remains the determining factor for living and retired athletes alike.
