Research shows 96 percent of ex-NFL players tested had brain disease

Researchers said Friday that 87 of 91 former NFL players who donated their brains after death tested positive for a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, PBS Frontline reports. The condition is believed to be linked to concussions, a source of ongoing debate in the league. In 2012, after Hall of Famer Junior Seau died by suicide, he was found to have CTE.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University also found that 79 percent of football players in general tested positive. The results don't necessarily mean 96 percent of all NFL athletes are at risk, because the brains examined came from players who expressed concerned about having CTE, but the outcome is still significant.

About 40 percent of the brains that tested positive came from offensive and defensive linemen, players who make contact on every play. That shows minor repeated trauma may have more of an adverse effect on athletes than extremely violent collisions, Frontline reports.

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"People think that we're blowing this out of proportion, that this is a very rare disease and that we're sensationalizing it," Dr. Ann McKee, who runs the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, told Frontline. "My response is that where I sit, this is a very real disease. We have had no problem identifying it in hundreds of players."