NFL to Conduct Own CTE, Brain Research; Partnership with NIH Ends

The NFL is set to conduct its own research into brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after ending its partnership with the National Institutes of Health on Thursday.

According to ESPN.com's Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru, the NFL is taking matters into its own hands after its collaboration with NIH disintegrated.

Per Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru, more than half of the $30 million the NFL donated to the NIH five years ago went unspent, with the partnership now completely dissolved.

The NFL is now contributing $100 million to its own research with more than half of that going toward the "Play Smart, Play Safe" initiative's goal of creating a safer helmet to minimize the risk of head injuries.

According to Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru, concussion expert Dr. Robert Cantu is among those who believe the NFL may be better off placing more focus on research than creating better helmets:

"The majority of that $100 million—$60 million—is going to technology, and 'technology' is a nice word to say 'better helmet.' They're hoping they can come up with a better helmet that will largely make the problem go away. Helmets can obviously make it better, but no, realistically, it's the violent shaking of the brain, the rapid movement of the head. And the masses involved of individuals colliding with their heads and other body parts is just too great. They could probably get it better, but I don't think the helmet will ever solve the issue."

As part of that $100 million, the league set aside $40 million, and the NFL Scientific Advisory Board will recommend how it should spend that money in terms of scientific research.

Currently, it is unclear if any of the $100 million will specifically go toward studying CTE.

The NFL Scientific Advisory Board will make its recommendations during the fall, with the league having the final decision on how the money will be allocated.