After many years of debate and speculation, the NFL Players Association has announced acceptance of a $765,000,000 settlement from the league in compensation for the thousands of concussion related injuries incurred by former professional football players.
Actually, the $765 million falls far short of what the players association was seeking as settlement. There are now literally thousands of claims by former players to be considered and even that large sum must be divided among many deserving players.
According to the payout plan, the maximum awards would go to players under 45 years old figuring that many will likely require lifetime care. If, for example, a player is now in his early 60’s, the max compensation he could receive would be $3 million for ALS and $950,000 for Alzheimer’s disease. Players who are in their 80’s and displaying early dementia would get only $25,000.
However, for the younger guys, the awards could reach $5 million for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis… aka Lou Gehrig’s disease; $4 million for a suicide involving brain trauma and $ million for dementia cases. Mentioning these specific aliments makes us wonder just how common things like dementia and ALS really are.
The awards will also take into consideration how long a player has spent in the NFL and any unrelated medical issues. Obviously the award will be reduced if there are injuries or conditions unrelated to the football field. Former players who do not exhibit any signs of neurological problems can get baseline testing and then seek some form of compensation if the tests reveal and problems that could be traced back to playing football for the NFL.
NFLPA lawyers Christopher Seeger and Sol Weiss told reporters, “This is an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families from those who suffer with severe neurocognitive illnesses today, to those who are currently healthy but fear they may develop symptoms decades into the future.”
Among the more vocal plaintiffs are class representative Kevin Turner who played for the Eagles and the Patriots and who is now engaged in a battle with ALS. He recently said in an interview, “The compensation provided in this settlement will lift a heavy financial burden off of the men who are suffering.”
The NFL will also be paying the NFLPA’s lawyers fees which come up to a whopping $112,000,000… so far. But, before you feel sorry for the team owners, remember, the National Football League has annual revenues of over $9 Billion!
