U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody denied the NFL’s proposed $765 million concussion settlement for more than 4,500 retired players.
Brody didn’t feel that the NFL was paying enough to the retired players and their families filing the class lawsuit. “I am primarily concerned that not all retired NFL football players who ultimately receive a qualifying diagnosis or their (families)…will be paid,” Brody wrote in a report filed Tuesday morning.
The preliminary agreement would have balanced out to $170,000, on average, per player.
That is not necessarily how the league would have paid out the retired players under the deal Brody nixed in Philadelphia. A players age and severity of medical diagnosis would determine how much money they would receive. The older the ex-player is the more likely they would be to receive less. A younger player with a severe illness would receive the most.
At the time of the preliminary deal, in August 2013, critics were quick to say the NFL (who earns $9 Billion in revenue annually) received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Although critics believe the NFL would be getting off easy, the plaintiff’s co-lead counsel Christopher Seeger stated that “We are confident that the settlement will be approved after the Court conducts its due diligence on the fairness and adequacy of the proposed agreement.”
In no way does Tuesday’s denial in court mean that the settlement is dead, however. “We believe this is an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families, and have received overwhelming support as they have learned about its benefits. We look forward to finalizing this agreement so they can soon begin taking advantage of its benefits,” Seeger went on to say.
The lawsuit was filed to accuse the NFL of fraud in handling players with concussions. Of the more than 4,500 retired players involved former Cowboys Tony Dorsett and Jim McMahon are included. Both suffer from dementia.
