By Jerry Sisk, President and Owner, Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law
A New Study Finds CTE in About 3 of Every 4 Former NFL Players
On October 28, 2026, researchers led by Boston University published a major study on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former NFL players. ESPN, ABC and other national outlets reported on it. The finding is stark: after adjusting for how brain donors are chosen, the researchers estimate that 74.5% of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had CTE.
The study appeared in JAMA Network Open. It looked at all 2,362 former NFL players who died during those 16 years, not just the players whose families donated their brains.
What the researchers found
- Among brain donors, 93.5% had CTE. Of 387 donated brains with a clear result, 362 showed the disease.
- Donors were not a typical group. Players with memory or thinking problems were about 5 times more likely to have their brains donated. That can make the disease look more common than it really is.
- The researchers corrected for that bias. After adjusting, they estimated that 74.5% of all former NFL players who died in that period had CTE.
- Even the most cautious estimate was high. Their lowest estimate was 63.7%. The authors wrote that even if players with symptoms were 10 times more likely to donate, the rate would still be above 60%.
- Dementia was common, too. They estimated that 27.2% of these players had a history of dementia during their lives. They expect the true lifetime rate is higher.
Why earlier numbers were so high
You may remember a 2017 study that found CTE in 110 of 111 former NFL players’ brains, or 99%. The new study explains that those brains came mostly from families who had already seen symptoms. The new estimate is lower, but the authors concluded that this selection bias “is unlikely to fully explain the high burden of CTE” among former players.
What the study does not say
The authors were careful about the limits of their work:
- It studied players who have died, not living players.
- CTE can only be confirmed by examining the brain after death.
- Some players had early-stage disease and may never have had symptoms.
Those limits matter for medical research. For a workers’ compensation claim, the question is different. A Minnesota claim does not require a CTE diagnosis. It requires proof that your work caused or contributed to your injury and the problems it causes today.
That is where Minnesota workers’ compensation law comes in. Football players, hockey players and other professional athletes are employees. When their job damages their brain, their body or their ability to earn a living, Minnesota law may provide medical care, wage loss benefits and other support, in some cases for many years.
What Is CTE?
CTE is a brain disease that gets worse over time. It is linked to repeated hits to the head, such as the hits players take in football, hockey and other contact sports. These repeated impacts include full concussions. They also include the many smaller hits that never cause obvious symptoms on the field.
Over years, an abnormal protein called tau builds up in the brain and damages brain cells. The damage can keep spreading long after a player retires.
Common symptoms
People with CTE, or with lasting effects of repeated head injuries, often report:
- Memory loss and trouble learning new things
- Confusion and poor judgment
- Difficulty planning, organizing or finishing tasks
- Depression, anxiety and hopelessness
- Mood swings, irritability and anger
- Impulse control problems
- Headaches and sleep problems
- In later stages, dementia and problems with movement and speech
How it is diagnosed
Right now, doctors can only confirm CTE by examining the brain after death. While a person is alive, doctors diagnose and treat the symptoms and conditions they can see. These may include:
- Post-concussion syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Dementia
- Depression
- Headache disorders
This matters for a workers’ compensation claim. You do not need a CTE diagnosis to bring a claim. What matters is that your doctors diagnose a condition, connect it to the head trauma you took on the job, and document how it limits you.
How Brain Injuries Can End a Second Career
Most professional athletes play only a few years. The players in the new study averaged about 5 years in the NFL. After that, most need a second career. Brain injuries can make that very hard.
A former player with memory problems may be unable to:
- Keep track of meetings and deadlines
- Learn a new job or new software
- Handle money or customers
- Drive safely to work
Depression, anger and impulse problems can make it hard to keep a job, even one the person is trained for. Headaches, light sensitivity and poor sleep add to the problem.
Orthopedic injuries often pile on as well, including:
- Worn-out knees and hips
- Neck and back damage
- Shoulder injuries
These can rule out physical work. A former lineman who cannot do desk work because of cognitive problems, and cannot do physical work because of his joints, may have very few options left.
Minnesota workers’ compensation looks at exactly this question: what can you still do, and what can you earn? When a work injury limits or ends your ability to earn a living, the law may pay part of your lost wages. It may also provide help finding work you can do. In the most serious cases, it may pay ongoing benefits if you can no longer work at all.
Professional Athletes Are Covered by Minnesota Workers’ Compensation
Professional athletes are employees, and their teams are employers. Under Minnesota’s workers’ compensation law, Minn. Stat. ch. 176, players who are hurt on the job may be entitled to benefits just like any other worker.
Players for Minnesota teams
Players who are injured while playing for a Minnesota team may have a Minnesota claim, including:
- Minnesota Vikings
- Minnesota Twins
- Minnesota Wild
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Minnesota Lynx
- Minnesota United
- Other professional teams based here
This can include injuries suffered in games, practices, training camp and workouts, whether at home or on the road.
Players hurt in Minnesota while playing for other teams
Athletes travel constantly. A player on a team based in another state may be injured in a game in Minnesota. A player may also have spent part of a career with a Minnesota team and part elsewhere. In some of these situations, Minnesota law may still apply. It depends on:
- Where the player was hired
- Where the employment was based
- Where the injuries happened
- How other states’ laws apply
These rules are technical. Do not assume you have no Minnesota claim just because your team was based somewhere else.
Workers’ comp is not just for one big injury
Many people think of workers’ compensation as covering a single accident, like a torn ACL in one game. Minnesota law also covers injuries that build up over time from repeated stress on the body. For football players and other contact-sport athletes, years of repeated hits to the head can be a work injury in their own right.
The no-fault system
Minnesota workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You do not have to prove that your team did anything wrong. You do not lose benefits because the sport is dangerous or because you chose to play through pain.
The main question is whether your work was a substantial contributing cause of your injury. Work does not have to be the only cause. A pre-existing condition, or injuries from high school or college football, does not by itself defeat a claim.
Special rules for pro athletes
Professional athletes’ claims have issues most workers’ claims do not:
- Contracts. Contract pay, injury guarantees and team benefits can affect how wage loss benefits are calculated and paid.
- Earnings. Weekly earnings for a short, high-paid career require careful calculation.
- League benefits. League disability and retirement plans may interact with a workers’ compensation claim.
These claims are complex, and an experienced attorney can make a significant difference.
Repeated Head Hits as a Work Injury: The Gillette Rule
In 1960, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided Gillette v. Harold, Inc. The court held that an injury caused by repeated small traumas at work, over time, is a compensable personal injury. Lawyers call this a “Gillette injury.”
The Gillette rule fits contact-sport athletes well. Each practice and game adds more hits to the head. No single hit has to be the cause. What matters is that the job, taken as a whole, was a substantial contributing cause of the brain injury.
Finding the date of injury
Every claim needs a date of injury. In a Gillette claim, that date is when the repeated trauma “culminates” in an injury. This is usually when the condition becomes disabling or clearly diagnosable. The date matters because it decides:
- Which team and which insurance company are responsible
- Which benefit rates and rules apply
- When notice and filing deadlines begin to run
For athletes who played for several teams, or whose symptoms began after retirement, the date of injury is often the central fight in the case.
Deadlines still apply
Minnesota has deadlines for telling your employer about an injury and for filing a claim. For gradual injuries like repeated head trauma, it is often disputed when those deadlines start, and the answer depends on the facts.
Some former players assume their claims are too old. Others assume they have plenty of time. Neither assumption is safe. The only way to know is to have a lawyer review your history, your medical records and any paperwork your team or its insurer filed.
Medical opinions are key
Because CTE cannot be confirmed during life, these cases depend on strong medical evidence. A neurologist, neuropsychologist or other specialist should:
- Diagnose your current condition
- Review your playing history
- Explain whether repeated head impacts on the job were a substantial contributing cause
The new study, and the research behind it, can help explain to a judge why that link is medically reasonable.
Benefits That May Be Available
When a work injury is accepted or proven, Minnesota workers’ compensation provides several kinds of benefits.
Medical treatment
Under Minn. Stat. § 176.135, the employer and insurer must pay for reasonable and necessary medical care to cure and relieve the effects of a work injury. For a brain injury, that can include:
- Neurology visits, brain imaging and neuropsychological testing
- Medications for headaches, sleep, mood and memory
- Cognitive, speech and occupational therapy
- Psychiatric care and counseling for depression or anxiety caused by the physical injury
- Home health care, nursing care or attendant care when a person can no longer safely care for themselves
Treatment for brain injuries is often extensive and lifelong. These costs can be paid by the insurer, not out of your pocket. Medical benefits generally have no fixed end date, as long as the care is reasonable, necessary and related to the work injury.
Wage loss benefits
- Temporary total disability (TTD) pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a state maximum, while you cannot work during recovery.
- Temporary partial disability (TPD) helps make up part of the difference when you return to work but earn less because of your injury.
- Permanent total disability (PTD) may be paid when a work injury permanently prevents you from holding a steady job. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 5, this includes total and permanent loss of mental faculties. Many former players with serious cognitive decline and orthopedic damage may fit this category.
Permanent partial disability (PPD)
PPD pays a lump sum or installments for lasting physical or mental impairment, based on a medical rating under the Minnesota disability schedule. For injuries on or after October 1, 2023, the dollar amount is set by Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 2a: the scheduled amount times the rating percentage. Ratings for brain injury, cognitive impairment, and neck, back and joint injuries can be combined.
Vocational rehabilitation
Injured workers may be entitled to a qualified rehabilitation consultant (QRC) under Minn. Stat. § 176.102. A QRC helps you:
- Coordinate medical care
- Find suitable work
- Pursue retraining
For a former athlete starting a second career with new limits, this help can be important.
Benefits for families
When a work injury causes or contributes to a worker’s death, Minnesota law provides dependency benefits to the surviving spouse and dependent children under Minn. Stat. § 176.111, plus burial expenses. Families of former players who have died should ask whether a claim exists.
Scholarship Athletes at Minnesota Schools
CTE and other serious injuries do not start in the NFL. Many players take thousands of hits in college before they ever turn pro, and most college athletes never play professionally at all.
Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law also represents scholarship athletes who are injured while competing for Minnesota colleges and universities, or who are injured while competing in Minnesota.
College sports have changed. Scholarship athletes:
- Train and compete year-round under coaches’ control
- Generate significant revenue for their schools
- May now receive direct payments from their schools
Whether a scholarship athlete can be treated as an “employee” for workers’ compensation purposes is an important and developing question. The answer can depend on:
- The terms of the scholarship
- Any payments the athlete receives
- How much control the school has over the athlete’s time and activities
If you were hurt playing a college sport in Minnesota, do not assume you have no options. That includes:
- A head injury
- A knee or shoulder injury that ended your playing career
- An injury that still limits your ability to work
A free review can tell you whether a claim may exist.
What Former Players and Families Should Do Now
If you or someone you love played professional or college sports and is now struggling with memory, mood, headaches or other symptoms, take these steps:
- See a doctor and describe your full history. Tell your doctor about every concussion you remember, your years of contact, and your symptoms. Be specific about how they affect work and daily life.
- Ask for the right testing. A neurologist or neuropsychologist can document problems that a routine checkup will miss.
- Gather your records. These include team and school medical records, concussion reports, contracts, pay records, and any league disability or retirement paperwork.
- Write down your history. List the teams you played for, with dates and where they were based, along with any major injuries.
- Keep a symptom journal. Note memory lapses, headaches, mood changes and how they affect your day. Family members’ observations are valuable too.
- Talk to a workers’ compensation attorney before signing anything. That includes releases, settlements and statements to an insurance company.
Talk to Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law
At Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law, we represent professional athletes, scholarship athletes and other injured workers throughout Minnesota. Jerry Sisk, the firm’s President and Owner, is Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Minnesota Association for Justice and Editor of the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Deskbook. He has extensive experience with professional athlete claims and with Gillette injuries caused by repeated trauma over time.
- Consultations are free and confidential.
- We work on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney fee unless we recover benefits for you.
- We do not bill clients for costs.
We have offices in Coon Rapids, Shakopee, St. Cloud and Woodbury. Call 763.421.8226 or contact us online to talk with our team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a CTE diagnosis to file a workers’ compensation claim?
No. CTE can only be confirmed after death. A claim is based on the conditions your doctors can diagnose now, such as traumatic brain injury, post-concussion syndrome, cognitive impairment, dementia or depression. It also needs medical evidence connecting those conditions to the head trauma you suffered on the job.
I retired years ago. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. For injuries that develop over time, the date of injury and the deadlines that follow are often disputed and depend on the facts. Have an attorney review your history before you decide.
I played for more than one team. Which one is responsible?
It depends on where and when your injury culminated, and on which team and insurer were on the risk at that time. These questions are common in athlete cases and often decide who pays.
Does it matter that I also had concussions in high school or college?
A prior injury does not automatically defeat a claim. In Minnesota, your professional work only needs to be a substantial contributing cause of your condition. It does not have to be the only cause.
Are depression and anxiety covered?
Depression and anxiety may be covered when they result from a physical work injury, including a brain injury.
My family member died and we suspect CTE. Can we do anything?
Possibly. If a work injury caused or contributed to the death, the surviving spouse and dependent children may be entitled to dependency benefits and burial expenses. Talk to an attorney as soon as possible.
I got hurt playing college sports in Minnesota. Can you help?
Yes. We represent scholarship athletes injured at Minnesota schools or while competing in Minnesota. Whether a claim exists depends on your situation, and the review is free.
Sources
- Gallini J, Alosco ML, Abdolmohammadi B, et al. Bias-Adjusted Prevalence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Among Deceased National Football League Players. JAMA Network Open. 2026;9(10):e2640884. Published October 28, 2026.
- Minnesota Statutes, chapter 176, Workers’ Compensation.
- Gillette v. Harold, Inc., 257 Minn. 313, 101 N.W.2d 200 (1960).
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every case is unique, and results may vary. Consult an attorney about your specific circumstances.
