NFL pledges $30M for medical research into brain injuries

NEW YORK — The NFL has pledged $30 million for medical research to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday the funding to the NIH, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is considered one of the world’s foremost medical research centers.

The research is designed to benefit athletes and the general population, including members of the military, Goodell said.

Potential areas of research under the grant include the brain, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), concussion management and treatment, and the understanding of the relationship between traumatic brain injury and late-life neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease.