Neurodegenerative Mortality May Be Higher in NFL Players

The largest study of former National Football League players found excess persisted even after accounting for the lower overall mortality associated with elite athletic participation.

By
Andrea Surnit
July 15, 2026
4 min

Conexiant

Objective:

To investigate neurodegenerative mortality rates among former NFL players compared to the general US population.

Approach:

Study Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study of NFL players who debuted from 1960 to 2019, including 19,824 players and over 518,000 person-years of follow-up.
Data Sources: Matched National Death Index records from 1979 to 2023 with Sports Reference, LLC data.
Mortality Comparison: Compared mortality rates of NFL players with age-, sex-, race-, and calendar year-standardized US population.
Sensitivity Analyses: Performed to assess the impact of competing causes of death on neurodegenerative mortality findings.

Key Findings:

Former NFL players had nearly four times the neurodegenerative mortality of the general population.
Overall mortality among NFL players was 30% lower than expected.
Neurodegenerative mortality remained approximately threefold higher after accounting for competing mortality risks.
Players in speed positions had higher neurodegenerative mortality than nonspeed players.
Non-White players had higher mortality from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis than White players.

Interpretation:

Limitations:

Observational, retrospective design limits causal conclusions.
Potential misclassification of neurodegenerative causes of death on death certificates.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy not routinely recorded as a cause of death.
Football participation and career duration serve as proxies for repetitive head impact exposure.