New Study Reveals High ALS Death Rates Among Former NFL Players Under 50

The terrible news that former NFL rushing champion Chris Johnson had been diagnosed with ALS at the age of 39 sent shockwaves through the league and brought renewed attention to the terrible disease. That new attention has also led to a new study into its rate among NFL players, and the results were pretty alarming.

On Tuesday, the Concussion & CTE Foundation announced that it has identified 10 NFL players since 1960 that have died of ALS before the age of 50. It is considered "extraordinarily rare" for the general population to die of the disease before that age, per ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith.

The study looked at nearly 20,000 NFL players with health records that could be reviewed. While the names of the players who were found in the study was not revealed, there are at least four that have died at that age of ALS that are known.

"Deeply Concerning"

In a summary of the study, co-author Dr. Daniel Daneshvar called the findings "deeply concerning" and believes it should encourage a deeper understanding of "how repetitive head impacts and motor neuron disease may be connected."

"ALS deaths among former NFL players, particularly those who die at younger ages, are occurring far more often than could possibly be expected by chance," Dr. Daneshvar said. "These findings are deeply concerning and underscore the urgent need to understand how repetitive head impacts and motor neuron disease may be connected. We must translate this knowledge into action by helping former players access specialized neurological care and accelerate research toward treatments and prevention. Every ALS diagnosis is devastating, and this data strengthens our responsibility to act with urgency."

Football is a very violent sport and the big hits have often been the appeal of many fans. But the sad truth is that so long as football remains a heavy contact sport, there are always going to be elevated risks of all kinds of terrible medical conditions.

Short of fundamentally changing the way football is played, there really won't be any way to totally remove the dangers from it.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 11:27 AM.