Our Results

There’s a common perception that the longer you played professional football, the more health problems you will have later in life.

For example, the number of seasons played in the NFL was used as a simple, but reliable metric to describe football playing experience in health studies. Now, research from our study examines the relationship between length of career and later-life health. Specifically, players with the shortest (played seven or fewer seasons) and longest (12 or more seasons) were the least likely to report health conditions. Players with mid-range career lengths (8-11 seasons) were the most likely to report health issues. These new findings are relevant for former players, as well as clinicians, epidemiologists, and other researchers concerned with the health of former and current NFL players.

We asked NFL partners and spouses about their health, family, football-related experiences, and thoughts about their partner’s health.

Among partners of active and former professional NFL players, marital satisfaction, poor health, and concerns about CTE may play a role in caregiver burden and behavioral health. CTE concerns represents a potential novel risk factor for increased caregiver burden among partners of NFL players.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a real condition resulting from repetitive head injury that is identified on autopsy (after someone passes away).

Despite the fact that there is no test today that can confirm whether a living person has CTE, former NFL players may nevertheless be concerned that they have CTE. Our objective was to determine how many players shared this concern, and whether they had other conditions that cause cognitive symptoms (trouble with memory, concentration, planning, and moodiness) that might mimic CTE symptoms. Lastly, we studied whether frequent thoughts of self harm or suicide were common in former players who believe they have CTE.

Does the age when you started playing football affect your health years after you leave the League?

We asked our cohort of 4,100 players about the age they began playing football and their post-career health. The purpose behind these questions was to determine whether the age when they first began to play football was connected to health conditions later in life such as cognitive function, cardiovascular/metabolic health, and mood.

It’s important to know that heart and metabolic diseases are common among former NFL players.

Expanding on previous research, our study team examined survey responses from 4,080 former NFL players to see whether concussion history was also related to reports of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol after playing years.

We examined trends in player position and race by relying on a unique data set documenting race, position, and career length on more than 20,000 NFL players who played from 1960 to 2020.

While changes in the racial makeup in the NFL over the past several decades have been widely known and discussed, this is the first time evidence based on data from NFL players has been published.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is an established brain disease linked to repeated brain trauma. Currently, there isn’t a diagnostic test available to confirm whether a living person has CTE; it can only be diagnosed after death.

Our results call into question whether this tracer can and should be used to diagnose or study CTE in living players. More research is needed to examine this and other tracers for diagnosing CTE through scans.

We know that race and ethnicity are factors that contribute to differences in pain experiences. For example, research has shown that people of color who experience pain are often under-treated.

Our researchers looked at the biological, psychological, and social factors (also called biopsychosocial factors) that impact how former players experience pain.

While we know there are several risk factors for hypertension, including smoking, weight gain, diabetes, aging, and identifying as Black, the link between concussion during NFL play and later-life hypertension is unknown.

Using a survey of 4,168 former NFL players, we asked about concussion symptoms during NFL play, lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, body mass index or BMI), and current health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.

Have you ever felt older than your actual age? Former players define their age not only by the number of years they have been alive but also by the way their bodies feel. Despite their long lifespans, are football players experiencing early aging and living with illness and disability for more years than non-football players?

Our researchers and health practitioners examined the occurrence of four chronic diseases in 2,864 former players under the age of 60, including arthritis, dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Additionally, we used a concept called healthspan, which categorized players into unafflicted (free from any of the four conditions) or afflicted (self-reported at least one of the conditions studied).

Research has shown that a strong personal social network can have remarkable benefits for one’s health and quality of life.

Those who experience chronic illness or brain trauma see reductions in the size of their networks, which can exacerbate their existing health problems. Larger personal networks actually help to mitigate the damage brought on by brain trauma and chronic illness.

With increased age and/or repeated stress on a joint over time, the connective tissue of the joint can become inflamed or wear away, which can cause pain and a change in mobility and function, requiring surgery. Whatever the cause, many athletes are at a higher risk of a joint replacement given the many sport-specific strains on the body’s joints.

Compared to other populations of former athletes, our cohort of former football players reported a higher percentage of knee replacements as compared to former soccer players, former rugby players, and even other cohorts of former football players.

Major differences in common diseases are often found between racial groups in the general public. Men who have played professional football at the highest level are obviously not the general public, and there are reasons to expect that among this elite group disparities would not exist.

Despite having access to social conditions that may be considered as advantages, such as higher median income, healthcare access, college education, and expert exercise regimens, race-associated disparities were present in former players—reflecting the presence of disparities in the general population.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a real condition that can be diagnosed only after a person passes away because scientists and doctors have yet to definitively tie symptoms in living players to changes in brain imaging.

Living former players with CTE diagnoses were more likely to report sleep apnea, diabetes, hypertension, and other conditions that independently cause cognitive problems. Read more about steps former players can take when discussing symptoms with their physicians, as well as other resources for improving cognitive health today.

This study is the first to explore the interplay between career length, position, and cognitive and mental health outcomes among professional football players.

Our analysis of 3,500 former NFL players looked at individuals’ current cognitive and mental health alongside the specific NFL career exposures using the self-reported health and playing data. Former players who reported more concussion symptoms during their NFL playing years (loss of consciousness, disorientation, nausea, etc.) were significantly more likely to report having cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety later in life.

While we are conducting several studies to examine how concussions may affect brain health, we are also exploring how head trauma can impact other key areas of former player health.

Former players who sustained more concussion symptoms during their playing years were more likely to experience erectile dysfunction (ED) later in life, have a greater likelihood of being diagnosed with low testosterone, and other health conditions may increase former players’ risk for ED and low testosterone.

ACL tears frequently occur during the football playing years and may have important implications for long-term health.

Our analysis of 3,500 former players indicates that those who sustained ACL tears may be at an increased risk for health problems later in life, particularly heart attacks, knee replacements, and arthritis.

Our research indicates that former players who experienced substantial weight gain between high school football and professional play may be at a higher risk for later-life disease

While past research has demonstrated the consequences of post-career weight gain, this is the first study to show that play-related weight gain may be harmful to former players, regardless of the player’s present-day weight.