On May 28, Dan Marino with 14 other former players filed a lawsuit against the NFL who allegedly misled the players about the long-term effects of concussions. The suit accuses the NFL’s “carelessness, negligence, intentional misconduct” related to the dangers of concussions. However, according to USA Today, Marino does not have “significant history of documented concussions” but suffered a neck injury. The suit does not provide any details on Marino’s current health. Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Bob Little, Randy White, and the estate of Lee Roy Selmon are some of the players who have filed concussion suits against the NFL.
In a separate concussion lawsuit against the NFL last year, the plaintiffs agreed on a $765 million settlement; however, it was rejected by a federal judge in January who found the analysis and information provided insufficient to determine whether the settlement amount would be enough to pay for the claims by all the eligible players. The proposed settlement provides up to $3.5 million for a retired player with Parkinson’s Disease and up to $5 million if with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The judge noted that there are about 20,000 retired players and even if only 10 percent of them are with a “qualifying diagnosis,” the fund is not enough.