Stephen Colbert Takes A Serious Swipe At The NFL On Its Biggest Night

Stephen Colbert offered a mostly goofy monologue on “The Late Show” after the Super Bowl but launched one barb that the NFL might not appreciate. (Watch the video below.)

Noting that some tickets hit the $100,000 price tag, he said, “That’s a lot, but of course the memories will last a lifetime ― unless you’re one of the players.”

Skewering the league’s chronic traumatic encephalopathy problem on its biggest night on CBS, the same network that aired the big game, takes chutzpah.

A Boston University study released in 2023 indicated that 345 out of 376 former players (91.7%) tested were found to have had CTE, a brain disorder associated with repeated trauma to the head.

The stats were gathered from brain bank samples “subject to selection biases,” the study noted, adding, “The prevalence of CTE among NFL players is unknown as CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death.” But 91.7 is still an eye-opening percentage.

Colbert let the audience marinate on his zinger and then moved on to sillier territory: a spoof ad on a punchable TV for frustrated fans.

Fast-forward to 8:20 for the host’s surprising Super Bowl takedown: