Report: Former Iowa safety Tyler Sash suffered from CTE

Former Iowa safety Tyler Sash, who was cut by the New York Giants after several concussions and died of an accidental overdose of pain medications in his hometown of Oskaloosa, suffered from the degenerative brain disease CTE, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Sash, who was 27 when he died last September, is the latest in a tragic list of former NFL players found to have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which is linked to repeated head trauma.

Sash, who had suffered at least five concussions in his football career by the time the New York Giants cut him in 2013, had bouts of confusion, memory loss and fits of temper and had trouble keeping a job after returning home to Iowa, his mother, Barnetta Sash, told the Times.

She blamed much of the behavior on the powerful prescription drugs he was taking for a football-related shoulder injury that needed surgery, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, after his death she donated his brain to be tested for CTE, which can only be diagnosed posthumously, that has been found in dozens of former NFL players.

According to the report, representatives from Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation notified the Sash family that the CTE diagnosed in Tyler's brain had advanced to a stage rarely seen in someone his age.

The doctor who conducted the examination said the severity of the CTE was about the same as found in the brain of late Hall of Famer Junior Seau, who committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 43, the Times said.

Some 5,000 former players sued the NFL, claiming it hid the dangers of repeated head trauma, and agreed to a settlement that could cost the league $1 billion. The settlement is under appeal.

Sash's family would not be eligible for a reward under the terms of the proposed settlement because only the families of players who died and were found to have had CTE before the settlement was approved in April 2015 may receive compensation for that disease, the report said.

Sash started the final 34 games of his Hawkeye career and had 37 career starts. He was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award following each season. He earned Associated Press third team All-America honors in 2009 and was named to several freshman All-America squads in 2008.

He ranks fifth in career interceptions with 13 and holds Iowa career record and ranks fourth all-time in the Big Ten Conference with 392 interception return yards. His 86-yard touchdown against Indiana in 2009 ranks as fifth longest interception return in school history.

Sash tied Iowa single-game record with three pass interceptions in a 35-3 win at Iowa State in 2009 and set Iowa bowl records for longest interception return (48 yards) and interception return yards in a game (74) in the 2009 Outback Bowl win over South Carolina, along with tying an Iowa bowl record with two interceptions. Sash ranks 51st in career tackles with 217 at Iowa. He concluded his Iowa career with 217 tackles and was twice a member of the UI Leadership Group.

Sash left Iowa with a year of eligibility remaining and was a sixth-round NFL draft pick to the Giants in 2011. He had 17 tackles and one forced fumble as a rookie and special teams star with the Giants, who won the Super Bowl that season.