Judge approves deal to settle concussion lawsuits that could cost NFL $1 billion
A judge approved a plan to settle concussion lawsuits that will cost the NFL upwards of $1 billion over the next 65 years.
The NFL will have to pay up after senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody approved a plan that will award former players an average of $190,000 to settle thousands of concussion lawsuits, according to an AP report.
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Former players who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s or Lou Gehrig’s disease in before the age of 50 will be awarded between $1 and $5 million and deaths attributed to chronic brain trauma will have their families subject to that same award.
The NFL has been blamed for hiding the long-term dangers associated with concussions and repeated brain trauma so they can get the players back on the field quickly and have been subject to much criticism in recent years as more knowledge has come to the foreground and more players have suffered after their playing careers ended.
This financial award will allow the former players who have had to pay astronomically high medical bills and will not be able to afford better medical care to treat their ailments.
Judge Brody initially had concerns the fund would run out and twice send the plan back to lawyers where negotiators agreed to remove the cap of $765 million. And as part of the deal, the NFL won’t have to disclose what they knew then about the dangers of concussion and how to treat them.
“From a business point of view, (the NFL has) … avoided what may have been the biggest risk to their continued prosperity,” said Andrew Brandt, director of the sports law program at Villanova University law school.
“Removing this as a threat is extraordinary,” he said.
The $1 billion sum is a high number without context, but when you consider the NFL has annual profits of $10 billion, it could be perceived by critics of the settlement that the league got off easy. The NFL will continue to rake in the cash while the next generation of players willing to sacrifice their bodies and long-term care will keep the money train on track.
As a result, the AP reports about 200 of the thousands of lawsuits are rejecting this plan and will sue the league individually. Of those rejecting this plan is the family of the late Junior Seau who committed suicide in 2012 and an autopsy showed he was suffering from CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
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