The NFL and lawyers for the more than 4,000 former players who said the league hid from them the dangers of repeated hits to the head have agreed details of a $760 million settlement that could determine how retirees with head trauma are compensated.
The filing in federal court on Monday is a key step towards resolving a long-running legal battle and may serve as a blueprint for other concussion-related suits. Assuming the judge in the case gives preliminary approval, the retired players will be notified of the plan’s details and have several months to accept or opt out of the settlement.
The proposal would allow the NFL to avoid legal liability while providing retired players who have cognitive disorders money and medical treatment without them having to prove that their injuries were caused by concussions received during their careers.
The 85-page settlement includes specifics on how much money, if any, retired players are eligible to receive based on their medical condition, age and number of years in the NFL. In effect, years of NFL experience are a proxy for how many hits to the head a retired player might have sustained.
Age-related payments
Retirees who played five or more seasons would be eligible for the largest amounts, with lesser payouts available to those with fewer years in the league. Payments would be adjusted based on a retiree's age and other medical history, such as a stroke or head trauma unrelated to football.
A player younger than 45 with Alzheimer’s disease who played more than five years in the league, for example, would be eligible for $3.5 million (€2.6 million). A retiree aged 50 to 54 with the disease who played five or more years in the league could receive up to $1.6 million. The presumption is that a younger player with Alzheimer’s would have been more likely to have contracted it because he played football.
A player who was in the league 4½ years would receive 90 per cent of the maximum amount, while someone with four years could get 80 per cent. The maximum that players could receive would fall by 10 per cent for each half year of experience less than five years that they lack.
Former players with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s disease or other serious ailments could get up to $5 million. Retirees who receive a diagnosis of full-blown dementia would be eligible for as much as $3 million. Some retired players with mild dementia may receive up to $1.5 million with the understanding that if they develop full-blown dementia, they could get a further $1.5 million.
Ex-players with mild forms of dementia may get medical benefits but not payouts.
“The baseline assessment and compensation programmes were designed to protect retired players over the long term, ensuring that these important benefits will be available to any eligible retired player who needs them,” said Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss and Sol Weiss of Anapol Schwartz, lead counsel for the retirees.
The settlement would provide payouts to retirees who have cognitive ailments as well as those who develop them in the future. All retired players could receive tests that would help doctors monitor their health and assess whether they are eligible for payouts in the future. Payouts would be available to all retirees. Retired players who agree to the deal will give up their right to sue the league.
Current and future NFL players are excluded from the agreement.
Some retired players have said the plan is not large enough, will not put money in enough retirees’ hands and does not answer key questions about what the NFL knew about concussions, and when.
Consensus elusive
Some have argued that the teams could pay far more given that the league generates about $10 billion in revenue annually. The proposed $760 million settlement comprises three parts: $675 million for players or
families of players; as much as $75 million for medical tests; and $10 million for establishment of a research fund. In addition, up to $4 million would be used to notify retirees of the settlement details.
The NFL would also pay $112 million to the players’ lawyers, bringing the total payout to nearly $900 million.
Sceptical retirees, including former star quarterback Craig Morton, have sued the league in recent weeks, an indication that they plan to pursue legal remedies against the NFL.
Jeff Nixon, a defensive back with the Buffalo Bills from 1979 to 1982, favours the proposed deal. "This may not be the best settlement . . . but if the agreement is approved by the judge, I will not take the chance of opting out and fighting another five or 10 years – especially when the outcome is so uncertain," he wrote. "It will be the fastest way to compensate the men . . . that are most severely affected by the brain injuries they have sustained."
New York Times
