Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
"When Steve came home after games, he often had a big knot on his head."
After his 9-year NFL career, Steve Smith was diagnosed with ALS at just 37 years old. He lived with the disease for nearly 20 years before his death in 2021 at age 57. After his passing, researchers at the Boston University CTE Center diagnosed him with stage 4 (of 4) CTE.
In this powerful clip, Steve's wife Chie, shares a small glimpse into their life & what that diagnosis meant for their family.
Her story comes as new research from Mass General Brigham, Boston University, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation found former NFL players who die before age 50 are 42x more likely to die from ALS than men of the same age in the general population. The study also found former NFL players overall were 4.5x more likely to die from ALS than expected.
"When Steve came home after games, he often had a big knot on his head."
After his 9-year NFL career, Steve Smith was diagnosed with ALS at just 37 years old. He lived with the disease for nearly 20 years before his death in 2021 at age 57. After his passing, researchers at the Boston University CTE Center diagnosed him with stage 4 (of 4) CTE.
In this powerful clip, Steve's wife Chie, shares a small glimpse into their life & what that diagnosis meant for their family.
Her story comes as new research from Mass General Brigham, Boston University, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation found former NFL players who die before age 50 are 42x more likely to die from ALS than men of the same age in the general population. The study also found former NFL players overall were 4.5x more likely to die from ALS than expected.
