list of nfl players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy list of nfl players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy a large number of former national football league (nfl) players have been diagnosed with or have had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte. a definitive diagnosis so far can be made only post-mortem. however, an increasing number of former players are reporting symptoms of cte. according to 2017 study on brains of deceased gridiron football players, 99% of tested brains of nfl players, 88% of canadian football league (cfl) players, 64% of semi-professional players, 91% of college football players, and 21% of high school football players had various stages of cte. however, this study had several limitations, including possible selection bias as families of players with symptoms of cte are far more likely to donate brains to research than those without signs of the disease. despite the limitations, the study still showed that cte is far more common than once believed. in 2023, the boston university cte center, which has led the effort to diagnose cte cases, announced that they had found cte in 345 of 376 former nfl players' brains. by comparison, a 2018 bu study of the general population had found only one instance of cte in 164 autopsies, and that one person with cte had played college football. other common injuries include injuries of legs, arms, and lower back. players affected many football players affected by cte have played professionally, but others have also been affected by or live with the possibility of having cte. in july 2011, colts tight end john mackey died after several years of deepening symptoms of frontotemporal dementia. the boston university school of medicine (busm) was reported to be planning to examine his brain for signs of cte. the brain bank found cte in his brain post-mortem. on july 27, 2012, an autopsy report concluded that the former atlanta falcons safety ray easterling, who died from suicide in april 2012, had cte. on february 4, 2016, an autopsy report from massachusetts confirmed cte in ken stabler's brain after his death. stabler, an nfl mvp and hall of famer, was diagnosed with high stage 3 cte. stage 4 is the most aggressive stage of the disease. heisman trophy winner and former nfl all-pro bo jackson said in a 2017 interview with usa today that if he had known about the risks associated with cte, he would never have played football, and he discourages his children from doing so. in late 2017, former kansas city chiefs running back larry johnson reported having symptoms akin to aaron hernandez, including memory blanks, suicidal thoughts and thoughts of committing violent acts. although there is no way to positively diagnose cte before death, johnson believes he is living with the disease. former players with cte confirmed post-mortem a common definitive test currently can be made only by examining the brain tissue of a deceased victim. as the families of many deceased players wish to keep their medical information private, the following list is incomplete. a brain injury study conducted at the boston university school of medicine showed that 33 of 34 players tested post-mortem showed clear signs of cte, and additional players have so far been confirmed with cte separately. a list released in november 2016 mentions cte in 90 of 94 brains of former and deceased nfl players. a july 2017 study found that 110 of 111 nfl players' brains examined showed signs of cte. ray abruzzese phillip adams george andrie rick arrington dave behrman jovan belcher wes bender forrest blue dorian boose daniel brabham colt brennan curtis brown nick buoniconti lew carpenter ronnie caveness greg clark daniel colchico paul crane lou creekmur chuck crist irv cross doug cunningham art decarlo willie daniel george darrah tom deleone shane dronett dave duerson pete duranko ray easterling kevin ellison james evans mel farr grant feasel gene felker cullen finnerty frank gifford daren gilbert cookie gilchrist john grimsley jason hairston darryl hammond carlton haselrig rip hawkins chris henry aaron hernandez wally hilgenberg john hilton glen ray hines jim houston jim hudson gerry huth vincent jackson john henry johnson tom keating bob kuechenberg jim kiick bill lenkaitis greg lens terry long edward lothamer rob lytle charles mackey john mackey ollie matson tommy mcdonald keli mcgregor tom mchale fred mcneill earl morrall larry morris tommy nobis joe o'malley paul oliver chuck osborne ray perkins joe perry mike pyle bob riley adrian robinson isiah robertson rocky rosema scott ross edward roth tyler sash eric scoggins clyde scott jake scott junior seau bubba smith robert sowell ken stabler jeff staggs bill stanfill justin strzelczyk mosi tatupu daniel te'o-nesheim demaryius thomas max tuerk kevin turner tommy vaughn frank wainright fulton walker andre waters mike webster jim welch ralph wenzel jesse whittenton john wilbur ben williams jeff winans dennis wirgowski willie wood roger zatkoff deceased players suspected of having had cte included in the list are players diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als) who were never tested post-mortem for cte but whose history appears consistent with cte. a typical diagnosis of als has primarily been based on the symptoms and signs the physician observes in the patient and a series of tests to rule out other diseases and therefore, prior to the discovery of cte as a phenomenon in ex-american football players, many cte cases were diagnosed as als. the testing of cte in deceased former nfl players began only after the disease was first diagnosed, in 2002, in the brain tissue of mike webster. after then, testing became common practice only gradually. a cohort mortality study run by the national institute for occupational safety and health (niosh) examined 3,349 nfl players who played at least five full seasons from 1959 to 1988. findings showed that while nfl players lived longer than the average american male, the risk of death associated with neurodegenerative disorders was about three times higher among the nfl cohort. the risk for death from alzheimer's disease and als were about four times higher among the nfl cohort. some on this list may have had dementia not related to als or cte. marion barber iii al bemiller matt blair steve bowman dwight clark mike curtis conrad dobler glenn foster john frechette jesse freitas jr. wayne hawkins dave herman gene hickerson dennis homan harry jacobs derrick jensen dave kocourek jim leclair tony liscio david lunceford tom matte ralph neely dick nolan jim norton bill pellington lawrence phillips jim ringo don shinnick shevin smith steve smith art spinney jim tyrer stanley wilson jr. living former players diagnosed with cte or als or reporting symptoms consistent with cte or als these players have publicly acknowledged either having been diagnosed with likely cte or having experienced symptoms, such as dementia or unusual memory loss, consistent with cte. in some cases, the player has received a diagnosis of als but symptoms are consistent with cte. there are at least two dozen former players who were diagnosed as part of a ucla study but have not come forward publicly. there are also around 4,500 former players who joined a class action lawsuit against the nfl alleging that it had covered up a growing body of medical evidence about the preponderance of head-trauma related cte in ex-nfl players. some of these ex-players may have medical conditions other than cte or als. for example, ex-players that have presented with symptoms late in life may have other forms of age-related dementia. some of the former players on this list came forward only in the context of the class action lawsuit versus the nfl. at present, there is no definitive cte test available for living persons. their average age is 51. mike adamle (age 73) george atkinson justin bannan brent boyd (age 66) o. j. brigance (age 53) lance briggs (age 42) antonio brown (age 34) chris brymer (age 48) george buehler artie burns barney bussey harry carson wayne clark (age 75) jarrod cooper tom crabtree jay cutler joe delamielleure (age 72) tony dorsett (age 69) mark duper (age 64) keilen dykes boomer esiason brett favre (age 53) david fulcher tony gaiter charlie garner (age 51) mark gastineau steve gleason (age 46) andrew glover (age 55) tim green (age 59) everson griffen dwight harrison (age 74) robert jackson roger jackson larry johnson(age 43) ted johnson (age 50) joe kapp derek kennard emmanuel king bernie kosar (age 59) fulton kuykendall (age 69) lamar lathon dorsey levens (age 52) jamal lewis (age 43) mark maddox leonard marshall (age 61) mike martin ricardo mcdonald (age 53) le'ron mcclain jim mcmahon (age 63) steve mcmichael bob meeks (age 53) matt monger (age 61) sean morey (age 47) guy morriss joe namath michael oher frank orgel dave pear william "the refrigerator" perry dave pear jim plunkett antwaan randle el (age 43) howard richards john rienstra george rogers (age 64) reggie rucker mark rypien warren sapp art schlichter tim shaw (age 39) sam shields o.j. simpson (age 75) ryan stewart (age 49) tyronne stowe darryl talley (age 62) joe thomas thurman thomas art thoms bill troup godwin turk kyle turley (age 47) zack walz ed white mitch white (age 45) reggie williams kellen winslow ii frank wycheck (age 51) titus young former players listed as plaintiffs in lawsuits against the nfl for concussion-related injuries received after playing this list is incomplete. the nfl reportedly reached a settlement in 2013 with around 4,500 former players (or their estates). this list currently contains fewer than half that number. khalid abdullah robert abraham sid abramowitz bobby e. abrams jr. ron acks tony adams george adams henry adams keith adams robert adams scott adams vashone adams margene adkins louie aguiar chidi ahanotu david ahrens samaji akili ethan albright arnold ale charles alexander jr. david alexander roc alexander vernest alexander eric allen dalva allen terry t. allen james althoff martin amsler michael andersen alfred anderson donny anderson erick anderson fred anderson garry (donny) anderson jamal anderson kim anderson ottis anderson richard anderson roger anderson iii charles anthony cornelius anthony reidel anthony lionel antoine shellye archambeau jojuan armour harvey armstrong richard arndt mark arneson jon arnett james arnold joseph aska jr. peter athas mike augustyniak william austin reginald austin robert avellini john avery steve baack charlie babb robert babich curtis baham elmer bailey karsten bailey mario bailey robert bailey william bain jame baisleys jr. ralph baker brian baldinger gary baldinger richard baldinger sam ball john banaszak fred ray banks mike banks michael bankston warren bankston gary barbaro christopher barber roy barker jerome barkum kevan barlow reggie barlow allen barnes billy ray barnes jeff barnes larry barnes lew barnes fred barnett timothy barnett lemuel barney steve bartkowski james barton brian baschnagel idress bashir mike bass eric bassey larry bates patrick bates michael batiste marco battaglia james battle steve baumgartner aaron beasley derrick beasley terry beasley doug beaudoin jeff beaver aubrey beavers brett bech kurt becker rogers beckett don beebe thomas beer monty beisel anthony bell billy bell robert bell bruce bell edward bell grantis bell ken bell nickolas bell rodney bellinger donnell bennett woody bennett charles benson mitchell benson troy benson pete bercich bob berry gary berry sean berton don bessillieu eric beverly richard bielski keith biggers guy bingham ryon bingham joseph biscaha bill bishop harold bishop ken blackman lyle blackwood lyle blackwood jr. willie blade brian blades horatio blades robert blanchard ruben scott blanton anthony blaylock michael blazitz phillip bobo joseph bock dominec boddie nicholas bolkovac andrew bolton ronald bolton scott bolzan vaughn booker ryan boschetti keith bostic michael boulware emil boures sam bowers charles bowser bobby boyd brent boyd gregory boyd greg bracelin ed bradley henry bradley otha bradley bill bradley kyle brady stephen braggs dennis bragonier daniel brandenburg david brandon scot brantley melvin bratton robert brazile jeff bregel john brewer greg brewton lamont brightful vincent brisby jerry broadnax vaughn broadnax timothy broady john brodie kevin brooks michael brooks james brophy luther broughton steven broussard aaron brown cedric brown chad brown charles brown curtis brown deauntae brown edward brown fakhir brown gregory brown joseph "berry" brown lance brown lomas brown marc s. brown raymond brown reggie brown regilyn brown reginald brown robert l. brown robert lee brown roger brown ronald brown terry brown keith browner ross browner lydia brunet bob brunet jeffrey bryant maurice bryant warren bryant miguel ("mike") bryce-dingle vince buck robert buczkowski ed budde dan