Tyler Sash had chronic traumatic encephalopathy before he passed away in September of an accidental overdose.

Sash was cut by the New York Giants in 2013 after suffering at least his fifth concussion.

Sash had returned to Iowa and increasingly displayed irregular behavior, family members said this week.

Sash had bouts of confusion, memory loss and minor fits of temper. 

Barnetta Sash, Tyler’s mother, blamed much of her son’s behavior on the powerful prescription drugs he was taking for a football-related shoulder injury that needed surgery. 

Doctors grade C.T.E. on a severity scale from 0 to 4; Sash was at stage 2.

Junior Seau was found to have a similar amount of CTE in his brain after he committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 43.

“My son knew something was wrong but he couldn’t express it,” Barnetta Sash said Monday night. “He was such a good person, and it’s sad that he struggled so with this – not knowing where to go with it.”

She continued: “Now it makes sense. The part of the brain that controls impulses, decision-making and reasoning was damaged badly.”

Three of the NFL's top health and safety officers confronted the National Institutes of Health last June after the NIH selected a Boston University researcher to lead a major study on football and brain disease.

The report contradicts denials by the NFL and a foundation it partners with that they league had any involvement or input in the fate of a $16 million study to find methods to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in dozens of deceased NFL players.

Outside the Lines reported in December that the NFL, which in 2012 promised an "unrestricted" $30 million gift to the NIH for brain research, backed out of funding the new study over concerns about the lead researcher, Boston University's Dr. Robert Stern, who has been critical of the league. In the story, a senior NIH official said that the NFL retained veto power over projects it might fund with its donation, and it effectively used that power in the Stern study. Almost immediately, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy deemed the report "inaccurate."

Dr. Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, told Outside the Lines this week that the NFL raised several concerns about Stern's selection during a June conference call that included Jeff Miller, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety; Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, co-chairman of the Head, Neck and Spine Committee; and Dr. Mitch Berger, chairman of the sub-committee on the long-term effects of brain and spine injury.

The NFL declined to address questions about the concerns it raised to the NIH. In a statement Wednesday, Miller said the "NIH made the decision to move forward with the BU study with its own funds and to use NFL funds" for another CTE project.

"The NFL has no veto power as part of its $30 million grant to the FNIH," Miller said. "We recognize NIH has final approval on its funding decisions."

The Los Angeles Rams will reportedly pay a $550 million relocation fee to leave St. Louis.

When the Rams left Los Angeles for St. Louis in 1995, the franchise paid a $29 million relocation fee.

During the Rams' move from Los Angeles to St. Louis, Stan Kroenke bought 30 percent of the franchise from Georgia Frontiere. Kroenke was then considered a Columbia, Missouri businessman.

The Rams began playing in the then-brand new Edward Jones Dome in the fall of 1995.

The San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams have each officially filed for relocation to Los Angeles.

The Chargers played the 1960 season at the L.A. Coliseum before moving to San Diego for the 1961 season.

The Chargers have been attempting to build a new stadium in San Diego for several years.