Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre’s announcement that he has Parkinson’s disease is bringing renewed attention to the potential links between collision sports and a risk of brain disease
Favre played 20 seasons in the NFL, mostly for the Green Bay Packers, and retired 13 years ago. In a 2022 interview with “The Bubba Army” radio show, he estimated that he had suffered thousands of concussions.
“Every time my head hit the turf, there was ringing or stars going, flash bulbs, but I was still able to play,” he said in that interview. “That’s what’s kind of frightening about the concussion thing. It’s the ones that seem minor that do the damage.”
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Early research has established a likely link between these activities and Parkinson’s, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Multiple studies have found that a single concussion can raise a person’s risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s by more than 55%.
