The National Football League has announced a $30 million grant to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health for medical research designed to benefit athletes and members of the general public, including members of the military.

The unrestricted grant, the single largest ever awarded by the NFL and the lead gift in support of a new sports and health research program, will be administered by NIH, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While specific plans for the new program have yet to be developed, areas under discussion include accelerating the pace of discovery to support innovative and promising brain science research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), concussion management and treatment, and the understanding of the potential relationship between traumatic brain injury and late-life neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer's disease.

In addition to brain research, funds also will be dedicated to other health areas such as sudden cardiac death in young athletes, heat and hydration-related illness, chronic degenerative joint disease as a result of athletic injuries, the transition from acute to chronic pain, and the detection and health effects of performance enhancing substances, including human growth hormone.

"We are grateful for the NFL's generosity," said Dr. Stephanie James, FNIH acting executive director and CEO. "The research to be funded by this donation will accelerate scientific discovery that will benefit athletes and the general public alike."