BU study finds advanced CTE cases often miss NFL concussion settlement compensation

A Boston University study of 33 former NFL players diagnosed postmortem with advanced CTE found they often showed cognitive impairment in life but still received the lowest impairment rating under the NFL Concussion Settlement’s baseline assessment, suggesting the program’s criteria miss cases linked to confirmed CTE and may deny compensation; the study, published in JAMA Network Open, highlights a need to reassess diagnostic criteria as the settlement has paid about $1.7 billion through August 2026.