Former Colorado Buffaloes running back Rashaan Salaam’s legacy will help fund potentially life-saving brain studies.
His 1994 Heisman Trophy sold for $399,608 at auction late Saturday with a portion donated to benefit chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) research; a brain disease linked to former football players who later struggle to control behavior and make decisions.
Salaam took his own life in 2016 by gunshot wound to the head, the Boulder County coroner’s office confirmed. He was 42. Salaam’s brother, Jabali Alaji, told USA Today he believed Salaam suffered from symptoms commonly related to CTE — memory loss, depression, mood swings — but the family later declined the option for CTE testing prior to his autopsy.