List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Although the symptoms of CTE can vary, it doesn't directly cause death but instead changes personality and behavior, making a person not feel like themselves anymore. Players with CTE can become isolated from their friends. Some players and those around them deal with their violent mood swings, rage, In some cases, damage to players' brains contributes to severe alcoholism leading to death. Two former NFL Man of the Year winners suffering from CTE symptoms have committed suicide by shooting themselves in the chest, with the intent of leaving their brains intact to be studied for the damage inflicted by football. 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 running back Larry Johnson, who holds the NFL record for most rushing attempts in a season, 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. The CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation states that "[l]ater stage CTE (stage 3 and 4) is associated with dementia, but early-stage CTE (stage 1 and 2) is more associated with what is called neurobehavioral dysregulation, which includes violent, impulsive, or explosive behavior, inappropriate behavior, aggression, rage, 'short fuse,' and lack of behavioral control." Each year of playing tackle football increases a player's risk of developing CTE by 30 percent. Family members and friends frequently struggle to try and provide care for former players with CTE, and not using basic tests to identify dementia in former players for its legal settlement. ==List==

Deceased players with CTE confirmed post-mortem A common definitive test currently can be made only by examining the brain tissue of a deceased victim. 345 of 376 NFL players whose brains have been autopsied had CTE. and the families of most deceased players keep their autopsy results private—the following list shows a small fraction of NFL players who have had CTE. The age listed to the right of many players' names is when their CTE symptoms began, as indicated in the referenced sources, although in some cases symptoms could have begun earlier. • Ray Abruzzese – CTE symptoms began in his early 30s • Kenneth Adamson • George Andrie • Mark Arneson – late 60s • Rick Arrington • Chuck Arrobio – early 70s • George Atkinson • George Atkinson III – 20s • Maxie Baughan • Terry Beasley • Dave Behrman • Jovan Belcher – mid 20s • Al Bemiller – mid 40s • Jeff Blackshear – early 40s • Daniel Brabham • Colt Brennan – mid 30s • Curtis Brown – 50s • Nick Buoniconti – early 70s • Lew Carpenter • Howard Carson • Henry Childs • Greg Clark – late 40s • Daniel Colchico • Lou Creekmur – early 50s • Bobby Crespino • Irv Cross – late 70s • Doug Cunningham • Art DeCarlo – mid 60s • George Darrah – late 60s • Fred Dean • Tom DeLeone • Bill Demory • Taylor Dever • David Drachman – around 50 • Shane Dronett – mid 30s • Dave Duerson – mid 40s • Chris Eitzmann – late 30s • Kevin Ellison – late 20s • James Evans • Mel Farr • Grant Feasel • Gene Felker • Cullen Finnerty – late 20s • Danny Fulton • Daren Gilbert • Cookie Gilchrist • John Grimsley – around 40 • Jason Hairston – mid 40s • Darryl Hammond • Carlton Haselrig – early 50s • Rip Hawkins • Steve Heimkreiter – mid 20s • Aaron Hernandez – mid 20s • Wally Hilgenberg • John Hilton • Glen Ray Hines – mid 30s • Nate Hobgood-Chittick – early 40s • Paul Hornung – early 50s • Jim Hudson • Claude Humphrey – mid 30s • Lionel James – mid 50s • Darrius Johnson – early 50s • John Henry Johnson – 50s • Ron Johnson Sr. • Vaughan Johnson • Tom Keating • Greg Lens • Terry Long – mid 40s • Edward Lothamer – early 60s • Jim Lynch • Charles Mackey – early 70s • John Mackey – late 50s • Greg Marx • Tommy McDonald • Keli McGregor • Tom McHale – mid 40s • Kenny McKinley – early 20s • Steve McMichael • Fred McNeill – mid 40s • Earl Morrall • Larry Morris – mid 40s • Guy Morriss – early 60s • Tommy Nobis • Joe O'Malley – mid 30s • Don Paul • Ray Perkins – mid 70s • Joe Perry – early 70s • Richard Pickens • Cyril Pinder • Mike Pitts • Bob Riley • Isiah Robertson • Adrian Robinson – mid 20s • Rocky Rosema • Scott Ross – mid 30s • Max Runager • Tyler Sash – mid 20s • Eric Scoggins – 80s • Jake Scott – early 40s • Bubba Smith • Joey Smith Sr. – early 50s • Steve Smith • Robert Sowell – mid 60s • Jeff Staggs – mid 60s • Bill Stanfill – mid 30s • Jerry Sturm • Daniel Te'o-Nesheim – late 20s • Demaryius Thomas – mid 20s • Kevin Turner • Frank Wainright – early 40s • Fulton Walker – early 50s • Andre Waters • Mike Webster • Ralph Wenzel – mid 30s • Jesse Whittenton • John Wilbur – mid 30s • Stanley Wilson Jr. • Jeff Winans – early 50s • Dennis Wirgowski – early 50s • Willie Wood – late 60s • Frank Wycheck – mid 30s • 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. CTE has also been linked to increased rates of Parkinsonism. After CTE was first diagnosed in 2002 in the brain tissue of Mike Webster, brain donation for specialized autopsies to check for CTE have become more available. 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 — although that could be due to the correlation between income and life expectancy in the U.S. — the risk of death associated with neurodegenerative disorders was about three times higher among the NFL cohort. • Al Bemiller • Matt Blair • Steve Bowman • Chris Brymer • Dennis Byrd • Dwight Clark • Mike Curtis • Tom Dempsey • John Frechette • Jesse Freitas Jr. • Wayne Hawkins • Dave Herman • Gene Hickerson • Dennis Homan • Joe Kapp • Steve Kiner • Dave Kocourek • Jim LeClair • Tony Liscio • David Lunceford • Tom Matte • Dick Nolan • Jim Norton • Bill Pellington • Frank Ryan • Gale Sayers • Don Shinnick • Shevin Smith • Art Spinney • Jim Tyrer • David Walters • 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 but that could have other causes or CTE could be one of a combination of causes. For example, ex-players that have presented with symptoms late in life may have other forms of age-related dementia. In some cases, the player has received a diagnosis of ALS, but their symptoms are consistent with CTE. Around 4,500 players brought multiple lawsuits 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, and some testimonials have come in that context. At present, there is no definitive CTE test available for living persons. The age listed to the right of many players' names is when their symptoms that possibly indicate CTE began, as provided in the referenced sources, although in some cases symptoms could have begun earlier. • Mike Adamle • Justin Bannan – late 30s • Brent Boyd • Lance Briggs – mid 30s • Antonio Brown – early 20s • Barney Bussey • Jarrod Cooper – mid 30s • Tom Crabtree – late 20s • Jay Cutler – late 30s • Joe DeLamielleure • Tony Dorsett – mid 50s • Mark Duper • Keilen Dykes – mid 30s • Boomer Esiason • Brett Favre – mid 40s • David Fulcher – mid 40s • Mark Gastineau • Andrew Glover • Tim Green – late 40s • Everson Griffen – late 20s • Dwight Harrison • Robert Jackson – late 50s • Larry Johnson – late 30s • Ted Johnson – mid 40s • Jason Kelce – 30s • Derek Kennard – late 30s • Erik Kramer • Fulton Kuykendall • Lamar Lathon – mid 40s • Dorsey Levens – early 50s • Ricardo McDonald – early 50s • Joe Namath • Dave Pear – 40s • Gerald Perry – late 50s • Jim Plunkett • Antwaan Randle El • Howard Richards – mid 50s • George Rogers • Reggie Rucker – late 40s • Mark Rypien – mid 50s • Warren Sapp • Art Schlichter – early 30s • Sam Shields – late 20s • Ryan Stewart • Joe Thomas – early 30s • Thurman Thomas – mid 40s • Art Thoms • Kyle Turley – mid 30s • Zack Walz • Mitch White • Reggie Williams • Kellen Winslow II • Titus Young – late 20s Former players listed as plaintiffs in lawsuits against the NFL for brain injuries suffered while playing After multiple lawsuits Although the settlement's terms require that the latest medical tests be used to diagnose mental impairment, basic imaging tests are not paid for, saving "the NFL tens of millions in medical costs alone". As one neuroradiologist said, “If you're trying to find dementia in the last 10 or 15 years and you're not using imaging, you're not really trying that hard.” • Henry Adams • David Alexander • Kurt Becker • Joseph "Berry" Brown • Brett Carolan • Glen Condren • Tom Cox • Dexter Davis • Robert Dirico • James Druckenmiller • Sandy Durko • Ray Easterling (deceased) • Irvin Eatman • Tim Fox • Duane Galloway • Jumpy Geathers • Randall Godfrey • Dale Hackbart • Terry Hanratty • Edgar Henke • Rodney Holman • Darryl Ingram • Kendyl Jacox • Izel Jenkins • John Jennings • Allen Johnson • Anthony Jones • Willie Jones • Sydney Justin • Isaiah Kacyvenski • Ed King • Dave Kocourek • Robert Kroll • Ted Kwalick • Robert Landsee • Greg Lens • Otis Leverette • Bill Lewis • Kevin Lewis • Thomas Lott • Leonard Marshall • Bubba McDowell • Dale Messer • Dave Moore • Toby Myles • Antonio Newson • Tommy Nobis • Art Plunkett • Wayne Radloff • Fuad Reveiz • Dedrick Roper • James Rouke • Lee Rouson • Ken Schroy • Clarence Scott • Muhammad Shamsiddeen • Torrance Small • Glen Steele • Roger Taylor • Patrick Venzke • Michael Weddington • Jonathan Welsh • Michael Young • Richard Young • Frank Youso • Steve Zabel • Carl Zander • Emanuel Zanders • Connie Zelenick • Paul Zukauskas ==See also==