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10 Most Shocking CTE NFL Players Deaths

Head trauma and the number of CTE NFL players being diagnosed in the league is an uncomfortable subject and causing a real headache for the sport. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, is a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head and can only be officially diagnosed after death. 

CTE NFL Players

Side effects of CTE include aggression, poor judgement, lack of impulse control, paranoia, rage and anger. There is no cure for CTE and prevention is the current approach. Worryingly, 99% of tested footballers brains have shown signs of CTE. 

A study on an offensive lineman who was involved in 62 hits in a game revealed that 10 of those hits were equivalent to a 30-mile (48 km) car crash. Unfortunately the deaths of NFL players with CTE has led to unfortunate incidents. 

Is America’s most popular sport under threat?In past eras, head injuries were considered part of the game. Things have changed and the NFL has been forced into rethinking and acting on the issue of head trauma. 

Let’s take a look at the 10 most shocking CTE NFL players cases. 

10. Frank Gifford

Frank Gifford was an NFL champion in 1956 and an 8-time Pro Bowler. He played as a halfback and wide receiver for 12 years with the Giants rushing for 34 touchdowns in addition to receiving 43 touchdowns. 

In 1960 he was knocked out on a passing play in one of the most notorious concussions in NFL history leading to Gifford to retire from football. 

Gifford would return after an 18 month absence and would finally retire in 1964. Post-career Gifford was a commentator and play-by-play announcer on ABC’s Monday Night Football and he was also an actor. 

At the age of 84, Gifford passed away from natural causes in 2015, but his family revealed that he was a CTE NFL diagnosed player. 

9. Dave Duerson

Dave Duerson was a football safety who played 11 seasons in the NFL. He is one of the greatest Chicago Bears players of all time, winning Super Bowl XX with Chicago, and Super Bowl XXV with the New York Giants. 

He also held the record for most sacks in a season (7) by a defensive back, a record which stood for 19 years.

Duerson suffered 10 known concussions during his career. After football he owned three McDonalds restaurants but he began suffering memory loss and had erratic behaviour. 

He died from a self-inflicted gunshot in 2011 at the age of 50. Duerson sent a final text message to his family asking for his brain to be used for research. Neurologists would later determine that Duerson was another CTE NFL diagnosed player. 

8. Ray Easterling

Ray Easterling spent his entire 8-season career as a safety with the Atlanta Falcons. At age 62, he committed suicide after suffering from clinical depressing from dementia. His autopsy revealed his brain was consistent with having CTE. 

A year before his death he and several other players filed a federal lawsuit in Philadelphia against the NFL for how it dealt with concussions. His attorney stated that the issues players faced was that they were trained to lead in with their heads.

7. Chris Henry

A third-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, wide receiver Chris Henry played five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and scored 21 touchdowns. During his time in the NFL he was pulled over for speeding and found in possession of marijuana. He was also found guilty for driving without a valid drivers license, and for concealment and aggravated assault with a firearm. 

Henry was eventually waived by the Bengals in 2009 after a fifth arrest, the result of punching a man in what he claimed was mistaken identity. Later in the year Bengals management brought him back. 

Whilst on the roster he died after falling off the back of a moving truck driven by his fiancee. After his death Henry’s organs were donated, saving the lives of four people and his brain was donated for research. 

It was discovered that he was the first still active CTE NFL players case, as all those diagnosed were of people who had already retired. It was the most significant of all CTE NFL players cases prompting the league to rethink its entire approach on head injuries. 

6. John Mackey

Considered one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history John Mackey won Super Bowl V with the Baltimore Colts and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992. 

Mackey revolutionized the tight end position with 38 touchdowns in his career, and an astonishing 15.8 yards per reception. After his playing career he became the first president of the NFLPA.

Soon after he began to suffer from symptoms of dementia. At 65 years old he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and in 2011, lost his battle with dementia at the age of 69. A study on his brain revealed that he died with CTE.

5. Jerry Seau

Jerry Seau was a 12-time Pro Bowler before becoming another player in the growing number of CTE NFL players cases. The linebacker was known for his explosiveness and his passion, and he was a great tackler making 1,849 tackles during his career.

Seau was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2010 that resulted in him getting arrested and it was reported that he had suffered from insomnia after his playing career.

In 2012 Seau committed suicide with a gunshot wound to his chest, in similar circumstances to Dave Duerson’s death.  It was later found that his brain had definite signs of CTE. 

4. Jovan Belcher

Undrafted linebacker Jovan Belcher forged an NFL career after making his debut. He played four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs making 256 tackles. 

By late 2012 Belcher was living with his girlfriend, and the pair were reportedly arguing frequently. After a night out with a different woman, Belcher had an argument with his girlfriend and shot her dead infront of her mother.

Belcher then drove to the Chiefs practice facility where he shot himself in front of Kansas City teammates and coaches in the parking lot. A medical examiner later confirmed that Belcher was another CTE NFL players case.

3. Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez is one of the most high profile CTE NFL players cases. The former New England Patriots tight end scored 18 touchdowns in three seasons, including a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI. 

Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2015 and was sentenced to life in prison. He would be acquitted of a separate double homicide. Hernandez was showing signs of paranoia and thought that the FBI was after him and he slept with multiple weapons by his bedside. 

He also had a sophisticated CCTV system installed in his house and was known to have used large quantities of drugs. Hernandez was found to have suffered with the most severe NFL CTE for someone his age.

2. Justin Strzelczyk

Former Steelers’ offensive tackle Justin Strzelczyk played nine seasons in the NFL. He was portrayed in the movie Concussion, starring Will Smith, and was depicted as having confided with teammate Mike Webster about experiencing memory loss and domestic issues he was having with his children and wife. 

At the age of 36 Strzelczyk died in a car crash after a 40-mile per hour (64 km/h) police chase. He drove against oncoming traffic and hit a truck at 90 miles per hour (140 km/h). 

Strzelczyk’s brain was assessed by Dr. Bennet Omalu who confirmed he had suffered from CTE. Dr. Omalu has continually fought against efforts by the NFL to suppress his brain research and the damage done by repeated hits to the head.

1. Mike Webster

Hall of Famer Mike Webster won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is considered by many to be the best center in NFL history. He too was depicted in the movie Concussion alongside Strzelczyk.

“Iron Mike” was the first former NFL player to be diagnosed with the disease. Dr. Omalu concluded that Webster’s brain degeneration was similar to someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. 

After football Webster had major signs of depression, dementia, amnesia and acute pains. His behaviour was so erratic to the point he was pulling his teeth out and super gluing them back in, and he was zapping himself with a Taser gun. 

Webster ended up either living in his pickup truck or at train stations, despite being offered accommodation by people he knew, and he died of a heart attack at the age of 50.

Matt Ieriko

Matt Ieriko is a freelance writer who’s evolved his lifelong passion for sport into the creation of WolfgangSport.com in 2020 – an American sports blog covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and more. As an Australian, he’s always been fascinated with the cultural differences and global significance of sports in America.

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