The NFL is expected to pay out about $950 million over the next 65 years to resolve a class action brought by retired football players for head-injury claims. It is estimated some 3,600 players, about 17 percent of potential class members, will get paid from the settlement. Over 5,000 football players sued the NFL for head injuries, alleging that the NFL did not inform players of the link between repeated traumatic head impact and long-term brain injuries.
In August 2013, the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to settle the concussion claims, but a U.S. District Court Judge denied the settlement offer, concerned that it wouldn’t be enough to fund all claims over the next 65 years. The revised deal, announced on June 25, will force the NFL to pay at least $675 million in cash to retirees suffering from brain injuries, and then absorb any cost above that amount. The largest payments will be going to players who suffer from Alzheimer’s.
About 28 percent of the settlement class will develop some qualifying disease during the 65-year term of the settlement. It is estimated that the revised deal will pay out about 54 percent of the settlement in the first 20 years. Chris Seeger and Sol Weiss, co-lead attorneys for the players, said “[t]he settlement ensures that retired layers suffering from a qualifying condition will receive the compensation they need quickly, and the now-uncapped monetary award program guarantees all eligible claims over the next 65 years will be paid regardless of total cost.”
More than a dozen players objected to the deal claiming that it fails to address wrongful death claims and provides no benefits to players suffering from early effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. For years, the NFL disputed evidence that players will eventually suffer from severe brain damage. However, the NFL stated during the current litigation that it expects nearly a third of retired players to develop some long-term cognitive problem with conditions likely to occur at “notably younger ages” than the general population. In any event, the NFL will be putting up a lot more than expected to settle the 2011 class action suit.
The case is In Re National Football Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, 12-md-02323, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennslyvania