Do You Qualify to File a NCAA Brain Injury Lawsuit?

If you played college football and you're living with memory loss, mood changes, cognitive decline, or a diagnosis of CTE, dementia, ALS, or Parkinson's — or if you've lost a family member to one of these conditions — there may be a path to legal accountability. Eligibility for a NCAA concussion lawsuit depends on a handful of specific factors, and this page explains each one in plain terms.

You Played College Football — That's Where Eligibility Starts

The foundational requirement for a NCAA brain injury case is a history of playing college football at an NCAA-member institution. That includes Division I, Division II, and Division III programs. Walk-ons qualify. Players who never made the travel roster qualify. What matters is that you were a member of an NCAA football program — practicing, training, and absorbing hits — not whether you had a celebrated career.

 

The NCAA's duty to protect players applied to every athlete on every roster. Our cases have included linemen, special-teams players, and practice-squad members whose names rarely appeared in box scores but whose brains absorbed years of repetitive impact.

What Medical Conditions Qualify for a NCAA Brain Injury Claim

Playing college football is necessary but not sufficient. To pursue an individual lawsuit against the NCAA, you or your family member must have a diagnosed neurological condition that is consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or related football-related brain disease. Qualifying conditions include:

 

  • Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — confirmed at autopsy or by clinical presentation
  • Early-onset dementia or Alzheimer's disease
  • Parkinson's disease
  • ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
  • Cognitive impairment, memory loss, or mood disorders consistent with CTE that are documented by a physician

 

A formal CTE diagnosis is not required to file a case. CTE can only be confirmed definitively after death, and courts have recognized that living players and their families can pursue claims based on clinical symptoms and documented neurological decline. If you are experiencing symptoms but have not yet seen a neurologist, we can help you understand what kind of evaluation would be relevant to a potential claim.

Family Members and Wrongful Death Claims: Who Can File After a Player Has Died

If a former college football player has died and was never diagnosed with CTE during his lifetime, the family may still have a viable claim. Wrongful death and survival claims allow spouses, children, and in some cases parents or siblings to pursue accountability on behalf of the player's estate.

 

The key question in a posthumous case is whether a CTE diagnosis can be established through autopsy. We work with families to coordinate brain donation to the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank or other research institutions that conduct CTE neuropathology. A confirmed CTE diagnosis at autopsy substantially strengthens a wrongful death claim, though it is not always required depending on the clinical history.

 

If your husband, father, or son played college football, showed symptoms of neurological decline in the years before his death, and died of a condition consistent with CTE — contact us before you make any decisions about autopsy or burial. Timing matters, and we can walk you through the options.

The Statute of Limitations: Why the Clock May Not Have Started Yet

One of the most common reasons families hesitate to contact a lawyer is the belief that too much time has passed. In most cases, that concern is unfounded — and a landmark ruling we obtained proves it.

 

In Schmitz v. NCAA, the Ohio Supreme Court held on October 31, 2018 that a former player's knowledge of in-career head injuries is not enough to start the statute of limitations clock for a latent CTE claim. The clock does not begin until the player or family knew — or reasonably should have known — that the neurological condition was connected to football-related brain injury. For most families, that moment of connection comes years or decades after the player's college career ended.

 

This discovery rule is not unique to Ohio. We have successfully argued similar principles in courts across multiple states. If you are unsure whether your case is time-barred, do not assume it is. Contact us and we will give you a direct assessment.

The NCAA Class-Action Settlement Is Not the Same as an Individual Lawsuit

Many former players are aware of the NCAA's class-action medical monitoring settlement and assume it is their only option — or that accepting it forecloses an individual lawsuit. Neither is true.

 

The class-action settlement provides limited medical monitoring benefits and does not compensate players for their injuries. It does not require the NCAA to admit any wrongdoing. An individual lawsuit, by contrast, pursues full compensatory damages — for pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and the cost of care — as well as potential punitive damages for the NCAA's decades of deliberate indifference to player safety.

 

Our $18 million jury verdict in Geathers v. NCAA, returned in October 2025, was an individual lawsuit, not a class settlement. The jury deliberated for less than two hours. That result is the clearest evidence of what individual accountability can look like.

What Strengthens a NCAA Brain Injury Case

Not every case carries the same weight, and we are selective — we accept roughly one in ten inquiries. The factors that strengthen a claim include:

 

  • A documented neurological diagnosis from a physician or neuropsychologist
  • Medical records showing a pattern of cognitive or mood symptoms over time
  • A history of playing multiple seasons of college football, particularly in a high-contact position
  • Evidence of concussions or head injuries reported during the player's college career
  • A confirmed CTE diagnosis at autopsy (for posthumous claims)
  • Documentation of the player's functional decline — employment records, family accounts, psychiatric evaluations

 

You do not need to have all of these. Many strong cases begin with a family's account of a loved one's decline and a college football career. What we assess is whether the clinical picture and the legal record together support a viable claim.

What We Need From You to Evaluate Your Case

  • Do I need a CTE diagnosis to file a lawsuit against the NCAA?

    No. A formal CTE diagnosis is not required to pursue a claim. Because CTE can only be confirmed definitively at autopsy, courts have recognized that living players can file based on clinical symptoms and documented neurological decline. A diagnosis of dementia, cognitive impairment, or mood disorders consistent with CTE — documented by a physician — can support a viable case.

  • My father played college football in the 1970s and died two years ago. Is it too late to file?

    It may not be. The statute of limitations for latent CTE claims typically runs from the point when the family knew or reasonably should have known that the condition was connected to football-related brain injury — not from the date of death or the end of the player's career. We assess each family's timeline individually and will tell you directly whether a claim appears viable.

  • Does it matter what division or position my family member played?

    Division I, II, and III players are all potentially eligible. Position matters less than people expect — linemen and special-teams players who absorbed years of repetitive sub-concussive hits are among our most compelling cases. What matters is the combination of a college football history and a qualifying neurological condition.

  • We already accepted benefits from the NCAA class-action medical monitoring settlement. Can we still file an individual lawsuit?

    Accepting medical monitoring benefits from the class settlement does not automatically bar an individual lawsuit, but the answer depends on the specific terms of what was signed and when. Contact us before assuming your rights have been waived — the analysis is fact-specific and the stakes are significant.

  • What does it cost to have our case evaluated?

    There is no charge to contact us and discuss your situation. We handle NCAA brain injury cases on a contingency basis, which means we are paid only if we recover for you. An initial conversation carries no obligation and no cost.