{
  "id": 4604705,
  "title": "Opinion: The most shocking thing about the latest statistics on CTE in football is that we find them so shocking",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/opinion-the-most-shocking-thing-about-the-latest-statistics-on-cte-in",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-31T08:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "STAT News",
    "slug": "stat-news",
    "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/31/cte-nfl-boston-university-study-football-concussion-history/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study led by Boston-area researchers has found that nearly one in four NFL players in their sample had CTE at the time of death. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated concussions and smaller non-concussive hits. While the 25% statistic is shocking to many, the authors suggest that it may be on the \"low end,\" with a maximum possible prevalence of up to 98%. The study's authors caution that their findings cannot necessarily be generalized to the American football community. Despite this, the announcement has been treated as a landmark event for the whole of football. The NFL Players Association released a statement, calling the findings a \"call to action across the entire football ecosystem.\"",
  "summary": "The latest study on CTE in football players “quantifies but does not reveal a problem,” writes Emily Harrison, a historian who studies brain injury in football.",
  "key_points": [
    "Nearly 1 in 4 NFL players in study had CTE at time of death",
    "CTE prevalence may be as high as 98%, authors suggest",
    "NFL Players Association treats findings as landmark event"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}