It is set in 2002, with Will Smith playing as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who fights against the National Football League trying to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players. It also stars Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Albert Brooks.

Amid growing scrutiny from Congress, the NFL is forced to take the concussion issue more seriously, and in 2011, NFL players sue the league for not properly informing them of the risk of CTE.