At least one in four N.F.L. players, and likely a much higher percentage, had the brain disease when they died. Will anything change?

© Kristian Thacker for The New York Times

A new study shows that N.F.L. players have a high risk for developing degenerative brain disease. Does anyone in your family play football? We want to know your thoughts.

© Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

Researchers say it’s all about reducing the total number of blows to the head.

© Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

“We never see things that are this dire,” a former chief scientist of the agency said about rates of C.T.E. in former players.

© Jason Andrew for The New York Times

The actual prevalence, researchers said, may be much higher.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

New research finds that at least one in four N.F.L. players who died in a six-year period had C.T.E., a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated impacts to the head. Our reporter John Branch unpacks the data and its implications for the sport.

While Cavan and Quinn Sullivan star in MLS with the Philadelphia Union, brothers Ronan and Declan have connected with their South Asian heritage

Ronan Sullivan had tried a panenka twice in his life. Both attempts were at practice on the other side of the world, and one hit the crossbar. But his twin brother, Declan, was hardly surprised when Ronan turned to him and told him he’d chip the fifth penalty of a shootout that could win a scoreless tournament final, as millions tuned in online to see his Bangladesh side play against India in the Under-20 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.

“He didn’t even need to say it. I knew he was gonna do that the whole time,” Declan remembered, sitting next to his brother on the couch of their dorm room at Saint Joseph’s University. “I knew that if he got the last pen to win it, he was gonna do that. That’s just the him thing to do.”

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© Photograph: Courtesy Bangladesh Football Federation

© Photograph: Courtesy Bangladesh Football Federation

© Photograph: Courtesy Bangladesh Football Federation