NFL Donates $30 Million to Brain Research the Same Day as Damaging Alzheimer's/Parkinson's/NFL Report

"The NFL has pledged $30 million for medical research to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday the funding to the NIH, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is considered one of the world’s foremost medical research centers."

The donation got enormous pick-up, and Goodell was on the Today Show pumping it up along with the Dallas-New York season opener (NBC synergy!). The NFL will say the donation was timed to the start of the season. Which makes sense. But the timing also comes on the same day as this damaging report from the CDC:

"NFL players are three times as likely as the general population to die from a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, according to a new Centers for Disease Control study of retired NFL players. The study looked at nearly 3,500 retirees who played for at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988. Of the 334 former players in that cohort who have died, neurodegenerative disease caused or contributed to 27 deaths."

Way to get in front the news, Roger. How much play with this story get? [US News]