Aug 26, 2026 · 30 min
New CTE study widens football’s risk debate
How Many NFL Players Have CTE?
The episode connects uncertain estimates of CTE among deceased NFL players to the broader question of how much contact youth football should allow.
- 1A new study estimates CTE in 25% to 98% of deceased NFL players, while accounting for limits in brain-donation research.
- 2Repeated head impacts, not only diagnosed concussions, drive concern and support reducing contact in youth tackle football.
- 3Canada’s steel and aluminum tariffs and Dolly Parton’s legacy round out a dispatch on economic conflict and cultural influence.
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Daniel Doneshvar lays out a CTE estimate ranging from 25% to 98% while explaining why the study avoids relying solely on brain donations.
The brief
A new study attempts to estimate CTE among all NFL deaths in a defined period, rather than relying only on people whose brains were donated for research.
Daniel Doneshvar explains why brain-donation samples can overstate prevalence, yet still estimates that CTE affected between 25% and 98% of deceased NFL players studied.
The central implication reaches beyond diagnosed concussions: cumulative head impacts may justify fewer contact practices and more flag football for younger children.
Canada’s planned 50% counter-tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum exposes how intertwined supply chains could turn retaliation into higher prices and broader escalation.
The closing tribute remembers Dolly Parton as a songwriter, businesswoman and philanthropist whose Imagination Library extended her influence beyond music.