“Honestly, like I couldn’t give you a number because you just play with them,” Jones said. “You can’t know; nobody does. I think the guys counting the concussions were the ones that got knocked out.”
The Sports Legacy Institute won’t confirm individual donations, but a spokesperson said that more than 600 living athletes have decided to donate their brains to be studied. Of 34 neural tissue samples from NFL players, 33 had evidence of CTE. Jones said he can only guess at what has happened to his brain after 20 years of games and practices — and numerous “baby concussions” — through his NFL, college and high school career.
“It’s like taking a fresh, ripe apple and tapping it with your thumb over and over again,” Jones said.