5 NFL stars whose lives were ruined by concussions feat. Andre Waters

Concussions in the NFL are a big deal at the moment.

Frank Gifford is just one amongst a host of former NFL stars to have had his fair share of issues with concussions. After Tua Tagovailoa's hit last night, the issue of concussion and CTE has reared its head yet again.

After suffering what looked like a concussion against the Bills last week, Tagovailoa fronted up just four days later against the Bengals last night. He suffered a concussion after a tackle that left him in an awful state. Luckily, the Dolphins stated that he is now fine.

Former NFL players who dealt with concussions

# 5- Adrian Coxson

A name not many will remember, but Coxson was a member of the Packers in 2015. That same year, he suffered a serious concussion in early August and the team later released him.

Coxson even stated that his concussion was so bad that he still felt the lingering effects of it six months later.

The former wide receiver retired from football as a result of that one hit and he even stated that doctors told him that if he suffered another hit, it could take his life, per The Sportster.

That is scary for a player who had just realized his NFL dream, only for it to be taken away.

# 4 - Steve Young

Atlanta Falcons v San Francisco 49ers

While Young's life wasn't ruined by concussions, his NFL career certainly was.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback suffered four concussions in three years, and after a fateful Monday night game against Arizona, where he suffered yet another concussion, he called it a day.

Young has since appeared on several TV shows since calling time on his playing career.

One can only imagine what kind of life the quarterback would have lived had he continued. Young seemingly took the call to exit the league before concussions could have a long-term effect on his health.

5 NFL stars whose lives were ruined by concussion

# 3- Kylie Fitts

Arizona Cardinals v Tennessee Titans

At just 27 years old, Kylie Fitts decided to walk away from the NFL after suffering numerous concussions during his three years in the league.

His last concussion was as serious as it got, prompting him to make the decision to step away before things got worse.

With concussions now at the forefront of everyone's mind, Fitts got out while he still had all his facilities.

#2 - Andre Waters

Unfortunately, we are now getting to the dark(er) side of concussions and CTE. While the others mentioned on this list did not quite have their lives ruined by concussions to a major extent, Andre Waters was on the other side of the spectrum.

At just 44 years of age, Waters took his own life with a pistol. In an article published by the Palm Beach post, it was revealed that Waters had brain tissue similar to an 85-year-old due to suffering repeated head trauma from his time in the NFL.

# 1- Frank Gifford

Frank Gifford's story is another harrowing account of repeated hits to the head. Gifford took some serious shots in his career and in 1960, one hit left him instantly unconscious.

Gifford went on to spend 10 days in the hospital and would not play for two years after the hit. He latere suffered from short-term memory loss, tingling in his fingers and confusion despite stepping into a broadcasting career post-football.

Gifford passed away in 2015.