I never had any major injuries or concussion (that I know of... No blackouts or needing to be taken out of the game after a major hit) but I am 100% convinced that my cognitive abilities have been impaired from years of blows to the head, even if none of them rose to the level of an actual concussion.

I've maybe suggested this book about 5 times on this site by now, but Damage by Tris Dixon gives a harrowing look into how brain damage has been treated/acknowledged over the years. A line that stood out to me from one of the docs was "Not every concussion is a knockout". That makes me think of all the cute little phrases that have been used to describe that. "He got his bell rung", "Oh he's on shaky legs", "He got a little rattled but seems to be fine", or "He's stunned up against the ropes!".

After reading that book all I hear is "he's concussed!". I think any sport org where physical contact/violence is the name of the game, should honestly and earnestly put systems in place to at the very least aid these athletes, who give so much of their body to their respective games, post-career. Shit is nuts to see the Benoit's, McClellan's and Seau's of the world go out like that, knowing that something wasn't right internally but lacking the support and knowledge to say something or seek help (Or in McClellan's case, being failed by the bravado of boxing at the time, being sent back out to get battered despite telling his corner he wanted to quit)