After waiting over 10 months since the NFL and over 4,000 former players, including Jim McMahon and Tony Dorsett, originally agreed to a $765 million settlement for concussion-related issues (via si.com’s Doug Farrar, August 2013), the plaintiffs have received even better news.
On Monday in Philadelphia, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody ruled that there was preliminary approval to a new settlement to compensate the players (The Associated Press via foxsports.com). This agreement includes the NFL removing a $675 million cap on damages, with a fairness hearing to approve the settlement on November 19. Brody denied preliminary approval this past to the original settlement this past January, questioning whether the players would be paid fairly according to their diagnoses (via Farrar, January 2014).
The original settlement called for $675 million for compensatory damages for players with claims of neurological symptoms, $75 million for baseline concussion testing, and $10 million for education and medical research. This settlement is designed to last 65 years, cover retired players who develop neurological issues and diagnoses like Lou Gehrig’s disease, and amounts to a payout of more $870 million.
It also keeps the payout formula for retirees regarding age and illness, with young retired players who have amyophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease eligible to receive $5 million, a 50-year-old retiree with Alzheimer’s receiving $1.6 million, and an 80-year-old with dementia receiving $25,000. Judge Brody, the plaintiffs’ attorneys, and NFL senior vice president Anastasia Danias commented on Brody’s decision (The Associated Press via foxsports.com):
“A class action settlement that offers prompt relief is superior to the likely alternative — years of expensive, difficult, and uncertain litigation, with no assurance of recovery, while retired players’ physical and mental conditions continue to deteriorate,” Brody wrote. …………….
“This is an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families — from those who suffer with neuro-cognitive illnesses today, to those who are currently healthy but fear they may develop symptoms decades into the future,” plaintiffs’ attorneys Sol Weiss and Christopher Seeger said in a statement.
NFL senior vice president Anastasia Danias said in a statement that the league was “grateful to Judge Brody for her guidance and her thoughtful analysis of the issues as reflected in the comprehensive opinion she issued today.”
The federal NFL concussion lawsuit that was filed in April of 2011 has taken over three years to get to this point of near-full approval. One year later, former NFL players such as Ray Easterling (one of the original lawsuit plaintiffs) and Junior Seau died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Both were later found in autopsies to suffering from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can result with frequent blows to the head (Seau via ESPN, Easterling via New York Times). While thousands of players will be able to get some aid, even though it may be later than expected and/or needed, Seau and Easterling are two of countless examples who didn’t get help before it was far too late.
Mark Fainaru-Wada is an investigative reporter for ESPN who, along with brother and ESPN.com senior writer Steve Fainaru, wrote the book League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions, and The Battle For Truth. Fainaru-Wada released the order and memo from Judge Brody, and provided more info on what remains for the case.
Order granting preliminary approval in NFL concussion case: http://t.co/OZwTiBXI0N; accompanying memo from judge: http://t.co/ehdonqssKG
— Mark Fainaru-Wada (@markfwespn) July 7, 2014
Deadline to opt out/object to NFL concussion deal is Oct. 14; fairness hearing set for Nov. 19 at U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia.
— Mark Fainaru-Wada (@markfwespn) July 7, 2014
The book by the two brothers eventually led to the production of the documentary film League of Denial, which was shown on the show Frontline on PBS in October of 2013 (click here to watch it). The book and documentary examine sad stories similar to those of Seau and Easterling, specifically the case of former Steelers Hall-of-Famer Mike Webster, who also suffered from CTE (via espn.com).
Jim McMahon and Tony Dorsett are fortunately still alive and plaintiffs in the preliminary-approved settlement.
However, as shown in the ESPN Outside The Lines’ videos below, the affects of their diagnoses are irreversible and devastating.
While the concussion lawsuit story may be over, there is a new legal battle between former NFL players and the league. A lawsuit accuses NFL teams of the illegal dispensing of power narcotics and drugs to make sure players are on the field without concern for long-term health was filed on May 20, and has 750 plaintiffs as of June, including McMahon (Associated Press via espn.com).
This lawsuit , just like the concussion one, may be one that allows for the implementation of procedures and education needed to stop current and future generations from suffering from participating in the game they love in ways they didn’t think possible. Hopefully, regardless of the result, it does so before it is too late.
Update:
A pair of former Tennessee Titans have weighed in on the preliminary approval of the concussion settlement.
Free agent defensive end Dave Ball, who has played 8 seasons in the NFL and four with Tennessee (2008-2011), was one of the plaintiffs. Ball, 33, told the Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt that he lost track of the amount of concussions he’s had in his career, but felt the settlement was positive:
“It took crazy media backlash,” Ball said, “but they are moving their feet in a positive direction.”
Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Frank Wycheck played nine seasons with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. Wycheck expressed his skepticism to Wyatt, with the monetary award age and diagnosis stipulations one of his concerns:
Frank Wycheck, 42, estimated he had 15 to 25 concussions over 11 seasons as a tight end. He has migraines, memory loss and depression.
He noted the monetary awards will be dictated by age at the time of diagnosis.
“Let’s keep the window dressing off of it as far as having a parade and a standing ovation for it,” Wycheck said. “I know how bad I have been suffering, and I am not eligible to receive a dime. … I find it hard to believe there will be a lot of guys eligible for it because there’s not a lot of guys worse than me.”
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