Ex-NFL players ‘could get US$5m each in concussion lawsuit settlement’

Reading Time:2 minutes

academic research shows the repeated hits to the head endured by players can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can lead to aggression and dementia.

Academic research has prompted the NFL to make changes in play, including banning the most dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits. Photo: AP

Published: 11:35am, 8 Jan 2014

Former National Football League players suffering from health problems will be eligible to receive as much as US$5 million each under a settlement reached in a lawsuit brought by thousands of retired players.

The ex-NFL players will not have to show their injuries were caused by football, Christopher Seeger, an attorney for the retired players, said on Tuesday, a day after filing a preliminary motion for approval of the settlement in US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The details of the deal come four months after the NFL agreed to pay more than US$760 million to settle a lawsuit brought by more than 4,500 former players.

The settlement, and the fact it does not require proof that injuries were sustained from football, avoids a lengthy trial that could have delved into the league’s understanding of the potential toll the game takes on its players.

Sports business experts at the time of the settlement in late August said that it was a modest sum for the NFL, believed to generate total revenue of US$9 billion or US$10 billion a year.

The settlement includes US$675 million to compensate former players and their families, US$75 million to test retired players for neuropsychological and neurological conditions and US$10 million to fund educational and safety programmes for players, according to court documents.