--- title: NFL Concussions Leads to Alzheimer's, Dementia in 3 out of 10 description: Nearly 30 percent of former NFL players will develop brain conditions like Alzheimer's, according to a report released Friday. canonical: https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-13T00:46:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:10:02.168Z article:section: Health og:title: NFL Concussions Leads to Alzheimer's, Dementia in 3 out of 10 og:description: Nearly 30 percent of former NFL players will develop brain conditions like Alzheimer's, according to a report released Friday. og:url: https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbb783b35ee1a1c/6986a333adae445351544eeb/ap941292489202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1443 og:image:height: 812 og:image:alt: Percy Harvin og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NFL Concussions Leads to Alzheimer's, Dementia in 3 out of 10 twitter:description: Nearly 30 percent of former NFL players will develop brain conditions like Alzheimer's, according to a report released Friday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbb783b35ee1a1c/6986a333adae445351544eeb/ap941292489202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 3 in 10 Former NFL Players Will Get Alzheimer's, Dementia > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 13, 2014 12:46 AM UTC  Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin (11) reacts after taking a big hit during an NFL Divisional Playoff game against the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 11, 2014. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin (11) reacts after taking a big hit during an NFL Divisional Playoff game against the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 11, 2014. Kevin Terrell—AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 13, 2014 12:46 AM UTC Nearly 30 percent of former NFL players will develop brain conditions like Alzheimer’s or a less debilitating form of dementia, according to a report released Friday by the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association. The data in the report was used to calculate the size of a $675 million pool that will be provided to former NFL players who suffer from brain problems as a consequence of their time as professional athletes. The information was provided to the federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against the NFL on behalf of former players. The report said that the rate of brain conditions for former players were “materially higher than those expected in the general population” and diagnosis occurred at an earlier age, according to an [Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/estimate-3-10-nfl-retirees-face-cognitive-woes) report. The terms of the settlement provide $675 million for treatment of former players, $75 million for neurological testing and $10 million for research. The judge overseeing the case expressed concern that the funds might not be sufficient to cover the estimated 6,000 former players who may suffer from brain disorders. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/estimate-3-10-nfl-retirees-face-cognitive-woes)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/"},"headline":"3 in 10 Former NFL Players Will Get Alzheimer's, Dementia","datePublished":"2014-09-13T00:46:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:10:02.168Z","description":"That's at least twice the rate at which the general population experiences the same diseases","url":"https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/","keywords":["Developmental Disorders","Football","NFL","health","Dementia","Alzheimer's Disease","Neuroscience","Concussion","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbb783b35ee1a1c/6986a333adae445351544eeb/ap941292489202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbb783b35ee1a1c/6986a333adae445351544eeb/ap941292489202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Percy Harvin","caption":"Percy Harvin","creditText":"Kevin Terrell—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/developmental-disorders/","name":"Developmental Disorders"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3342795/nfl-concussions-alzheimers-dementia/","name":"3 in 10 Former NFL Players Will Get Alzheimer's, Dementia"}}]}] ```