Ex-QB Matt Hasselbeck part of quest for living diagnosis of CTE

Matt Hasselbeck, 50-year-old former NFL quarterback who played 17 seasons from 1998 to 2015, recently spent two days at Boston University undergoing scans and cognitive tests as part of a multi-site study attempting to develop the first living diagnosis for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The National Institutes of Health awarded $15 million for the research in 2025, according to ESPN.

Hasselbeck, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who played for the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and Indianapolis Colts, said he went through mental tests including counting backward from 100 by sevens and reciting the alphabet backward, had a blood sample taken, an MRI on his brain, and a PET (positron emission tomography) scan. He is committing to donating his brain for research after he dies. According to ESPN, Hasselbeck had three concussions before he even started college, one playing football, another on the basketball court, and another while ice skating. He acknowledged having additional concussions during his college or professional career but was unsure of the exact number because some may have gone undetected due to a culture of toughness in locker rooms, particularly early in his career.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to concussions and other head trauma common in military combat and contact sports. It can affect regions of the brain involved in regulating behavior and emotions, leading to memory loss, depression, violent mood swings, and other cognitive and behavioral issues, though researchers note these symptoms can also be linked to other illnesses, per ESPN. The critical constraint: CTE can be diagnosed only after death. More than 100 former NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE after their deaths, including Hall of Famers Junior Seau, a linebacker, and Ken Stabler, a quarterback, as well as former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.

The study, led by Michael Alosco, co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center, operates at sites in Boston, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida with potentially more coming. It seeks two types of participants: those who played professional or college football, and those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease who never played contact or collision sports and have no history of repetitive head impacts. According to ESPN, Alosco said, "We've applied what we've known worked for Alzheimer's disease, but we've learned it does not work for CTE. We've really got to push discovery efforts and find the marker that's specific to the protein of CTE versus Alzheimer's because they're different."

Nicholas Ashton, the principal investigator in Phoenix, noted that roughly 10 patients have participated at the Arizona site. Ashton told ESPN that diagnosing CTE in the living is currently mostly guesswork because so many of the symptoms mimic Alzheimer's. Alosco emphasized that Alzheimer's research is much more advanced than CTE research because it dates back decades and countless people have been studied, while CTE research is relatively new. "Treatments exploded with Alzheimer's once we were able to accurately diagnose," Alosco said, per ESPN. "We're trying to get to the same spot with CTE."

Bryan Savage, a 56-year-old former linebacker at Division III Union College who lives in Maryland, also participated and committed to brain donation. According to ESPN, Savage said he was diagnosed with depression and ADHD over the past few years and participated to understand whether they might be related to brain trauma from football. His brain scans were found to look normal for a man in his mid-50s. Alosco told ESPN he is "really hopeful about detecting CTE" and does not think that outcome is "too distant. Once we can accurately diagnose, that's when we can start some treatment trials."