Junior Seau — Shocking Sports Deaths

In January 2013, Seau's family filed a lawsuit against the NFL, alleging a wrongful death after the league conducted "acts or omissions" that concealed the risk of repeated hits to the head during Seau's 20 seasons. Seau died in May 2012 at the age of 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot.

One of the league's most respected and most liked players, Seau's death came as a shock to the NFL community. It turns out that in his playing days, Seau developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after sustaining his fair share of brutal hits. A number of former players have died young over recent years, but Seau is the biggest name to this point.