Parents Steer Kids From Tackle Football as Study Finds CTE in 1 in 4 Former NFL Players
Updated
Updated · Vox.com · Aug 25
Parents Steer Kids From Tackle Football as Study Finds CTE in 1 in 4 Former NFL Players
3 articles · Updated · Vox.com · Aug 25
Summary
A BMJ study found at least 25% of former NFL players who died from 2016 to 2021 had CTE, renewing concern about football’s long-term brain damage just before the new season.
Among 338 donated brains, 93% showed CTE, though researchers said that figure may be skewed because symptomatic players were more likely to donate tissue.
Youth participation data suggest parents are reacting: tackle football among ages 6 to 12 fell 7% from 2019 to 2024, while flag football rose 13.6% over the same period.
Among ages 13 to 17, tackle participation dropped 9% and now trails tennis, raising questions about whether fewer families will feed the sport’s future talent pipeline.
The NFL still dominates U.S. television—83 of last year’s top 100 broadcasts were NFL games—but the shrinking youth base points to a longer-term threat beneath that popularity.