An examination of Junior Seau's brain has revealed that the former linebacker had a degenerative brain disease when he committed suicide last May.

The National Institutes of Health says that an NIH study found abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition linked to repetitive head injuries.

Seau joins a list of several dozen football players who had CTE.

He was an outstanding linebacker for 20 NFL seasons before retiring in 2009. He died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound.

Last summer, more than 2,000 former NFL players sued the league in a landmark class action lawsuit.

They claimed the NFL misled them for decades on the risks of brain injury.