OBJECTIVE: There is substantial data suggesting that former professional football players have considerable cardiovascular disease risk. The objective of this study was to better understand the prevalence of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, in former professional football players. DESIGN: Data including blood pressure, height, and weight were collected from 981 former professional football players between April 2015 and May 2017 during cardiovascular screening events held throughout the U.S. Demographic information was collected from all subjects, including age, race, previous hypertension diagnosis, and treatment. Means were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Chi square, or paired T-tests where appropriate. RESULTS: Pre-hypertension was greatest for former players aged 20-59, with almost 50% of those aged 20-39 pre-hypertensive at screening. Hypertension was greatest in former players aged 60+, with more than 50% of these individuals hypertensive at screening; over 20% of those 20-39 were hypertensive. White former players aged 60+ had the lowest prevalence of pre-hypertension. Hypertension prevalence was only significantly different between age-specific racial groups at age 40-59. The majority of former players had a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, regardless of age; those with normal BMI were least likely to be hypertensive. Over 30% of former players reported previous hypertension diagnosis, with approximately 75% of those diagnosed reporting treatment. Of those former players that reported treatment, most had poorly controlled blood pressure at the time of screening. Of former players that reported no hypertension diagnosis, 41% had elevated blood pressure at screening. Former players aged 30-39 had the highest prevalence of previously undiagnosed elevated blood pressure at screening. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension is a serious concern for former professional football players, even those considered to be younger and at decreased risk. This may be related to the high BMI typically associated with these athletes. Blood pressure control in those reporting diagnosis is also a concern, as the majority of those men had high blood pressure at screening.