Report: 76 of 79 players studied show CTE signs

Junior Seau was discovered to have CTE. (Getty Images)

Having studied the brains of 79 deceased NFL players, one of the nation's largest brain banks has come to the conclusion that 76 suffered from some form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease.

According to PBS's Frontline, a total of 128 former football players were studied -- professionals, semi-professionals, college players and high school players -- and from that sample, 101 players tested positive for CTE.

That means 78.9 percent of the football players and 96.2 percent of the former NFLers suffered from the disease.

"Obviously this high percentage of living individuals is not suffering from CTE," said Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' brain repository in Bedford, Mass. "[But] playing football, and the higher the level you play football and the longer you play football, the higher your risk."

This news comes a day after it was revealed that former Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who killed his girlfriend and then himself in December 2013, likely suffered from CTE.

Other former NFLers who were found to have suffered from CTE include Hall of Fame Steelers center Mike Webster, legendary linebacker Junior Seau, former Bears defender Dave Duerson and former Bengals receiver Chris Henry. Seau and Duerson both shot themselves in the chest, presumably so their brains could be studied after their deaths.

As Frontline notes, the NFL did not respond to several requests for comment.

NFL Hot News

Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater not practicing Tuesday



Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Pioneer Press reported via his Twitter feed that Minnesota rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (ankle) was still not practicing on Tuesday. The hope is that Bridgewater can participate in Wednesday's jog-through and go from there. Bridgewater hasn't committed himself to being ready for Thursday night's game at Green Bay.Bridgewater was 19-of-30 for 317 yards passing in his first NFL start Sunday against Atlanta, adding 27 yards and his first career touchdown on the ground.



This week couldn't be a better example of why this writer has so much disdain for the way the NFL does the Thursday night games. Play games on Thursday nights. We love football. The more, the better. However, the teams that play on Thursday nights should be two teams coming off their bye. The games aren't good. Injuries aren't healed. Gameplans are lackluster. It's just not the best product they could put out there.All that aside, even if Bridgewater participates in the jog-through Wednesday, he'll likely be a game-time decision on Thursday night. If he can't go, it will be the Christian Ponder show. This should draw cheers from the crowd, since they'll be in Green Bay. Bridgewater is probably not someone you'd be playing this week anyway unless you're in two-quarterback leagues. Ponder is someone you don't play. Ever.