Mark Jackson, the former NFL wide receiver who suited up for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts is matter of fact about the situation now, more than 30 years after he retired.
“Yeah, I have CTE,” he told Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame as part of a new article that came out ahead of Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
He had a lot more to say, too, and we’ll get to that.
But for those still unsure about it, a quick refresher.
What is CTE?
CTE is short for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
It’s a degenerative brain disease that stems from repeated impacts to the head, known as head trauma.
CTE can only be diagnosed officially in a deceased individual.
Mark Jackson on CTE
Jackson is still very much alive, so there can be no official diagnosis. But he’s pretty positive what the state of his brain is like.
“I have at least four documented concussions,” Jackson told Sports Illustrated. “So every time early in my career, every time we played in Minnesota, I got knocked out. I laugh about it, right? I could be angry. I’m not the angry guy, man. I’m not going to play the angry guy role. Although I’m disappointed that the NFL hasn’t shelled out a quarter of a million or three hundred thousand to every player and called it a day as opposed to having this convoluted system of checking guys to see if you actually have CTE. Yeah, I have CTE. It’s almost 100% positive that I do because I have the documented cases in Minnesota. Got knocked out in Seattle. And back then, being knocked out meant you couldn’t go back in and perform because you couldn’t remember where you were.”
Jackson was originally a sixth-round pick by the Broncos out of Purdue in 1986.
The 5-foot-9 wideout played parts of seven seasons with Denver, peaking in 1990 when he had 57 grabs for 926 yards.
He then spent a season-and-a-half with the New York Giants, then played 12 games to close his career with the Colts. He had eight grabs for 97 yards and a touchdown with Indianapolis.
Jackson, now three decades later, views the sport of football a lot differently than when he played.
“I believe football is a business,” Jackson told Sports Illustrated. “I didn’t understand that. Your whole life as an athlete, you’re taught that we’re a family. We take care of each other. We look out for each other. We sacrifice for each other. And you think that the NFL is excluded in that, but it’s not until the end of your career that you realize this is a business. It’s not based on even my talent level. It’s based on so many other factors, just like any other business. And just like any other business that, you know, the whole goal is to expand.”
Jackson is 63 years old now, a long way removed from his days as a shifty wide receiver.
He knows that football left lasting marks on him, and he evidently isn’t shying away from that.
Ex-Colts WR: ‘Yeah, I have CTE’