The NFL’s concussion settlement agreement was affirmed by a federal appeals court on Monday. This settlement plan could end up costing the league as much as $1 billion as it doles out payments to resolve the thousands of concussion lawsuits filed by former players. The settlement covers more than 20,000 retired players.
This appeals court decision comes as a blow to a group of players who disagreed with the terms of the deal, and appealed for expanded coverage, including increased considerations of future payments for CTE.
The judges acknowledged these concerns, but ultimately decided the current settlement agreement provided a satisfactory level of repayment.
“This settlement will provide significant and immediate relief to retired players living with the lasting scars of a NFL career, including those suffering from some of the symptoms associated with CTE,” Judge Thomas L. Ambro wrote.
However, it is interesting to note this settlement was not changed following the NFL’s first official acknowledgment of the link between football and brain disease. The judges did recognize the NFL’s admission in their decision, but said the current deal was fair and the risk of renegotiating a better deal could backfire.
“We must hesitate before rejecting that bargain based on an unsupported hope that sending the parties back to the negotiating table would lead to a better deal.”
This decision comes approximately one year after the $1 billion settlement was initially reached and approved by U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody. Brody rejected two prior agreements over concerns the allocated settlement money would run out.
The agreement does not cover current NFL players, and will cover payouts over the next 65 years.
Lawyers representing the group of players who appealed the decision said they would evaluate their remaining legal options, which could include an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
However, the co-lead counsel for the former players in reaching the $1 billion settlement said the appeals court decision represented a long-awaited victory.
“We are pleased with the Third Circuit’s decision to completely uphold the District Court’s approval of the settlement,” Christopher Seeger, co-lead counsel for the former players, said in a statement. “This extraordinary settlement’s implementation has been delayed enough by this small group of objectors, whose arguments have been exhaustively examined and overruled by both the District Court and Third Circuit. We hope they will consider the over 20,000 retired players and their families that support this agreement before filing additional appeals that will only extend these delays further.”
[NPR]
