DOOMED

30% of Ex-NFLers Face Brain Problems

At twice the risk of Alzheimer's, for instance.

Almost three in ten retired professional football players will face moderate to severe neurocognitive problems resulting from concussions, an actuary for the ex-athletes has found. The data was prepared for use in a lawsuit against the National Football League brought by retired players and their families, which may be settled for a proposed sum of $765 million. According to that data, retired players are at twice the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, moderate dementia, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease than the general population between ages 20 and 60. That means almost 6,000 will develop either Alzheimer's or moderate dementia, for instance. Some 28 percent of players are expected to qualify for a reward from the settlement if it's approved.