04/18/24
August 29, 2013
NFL Settles with Players for $765 Million for Brain Traumas: A judge has announced a tentative settlement between the NFL and the more than 4,000 players who had joined in a suit over concussion-related brain injuries. The mediated result would cost the league $765 million, with payments to individual players based on their medical status. Any former NFL player would be eligible.
As Erik Malinowski pointed out on Twitter, the NFL just agreed to pay out -- once -- 40 percent of what it gets from ESPN for Monday Night Football every year. That's seven games' worth of money.
posted by Etrigan at 02:18 PM on August 29, 2013
Wow. That's an incredible bargain for the NFL. I guess that is a lot of money for most of those guys, but it just seems so pitiful when compared to the massive behemoth that is the NFL these days.
posted by Rock Steady at 02:25 PM on August 29, 2013
My wife says my brain has rotted from watching too much football on TV. Can I get a share of the settlement? In all seriousness, I agree with Rock; it's really a bargain.
posted by Howard_T at 03:31 PM on August 29, 2013
Cue 6 zillion commenters on Yahoo! Sports and ESPN saying they'd happily get hit in the head for a lot less. By my math it would be $170,000/ player.
I'm almost willing to pay $170,000 for the right to hit in the head anyone who comments on Yahoo! Sports and ESPN...
posted by grum@work at 03:35 PM on August 29, 2013
The settlement most likely means the NFL won't have to disclose internal files about what it knew, and when, about concussion-linked brain problems. Some observers had warned that the lawsuits could cost the league $1 billion or more if they were allowed to move forward in court.
This. By settling, the NFL need not admit any culpibility, nor can a jury find it responsible for any wrongdoing. The cynic in me applauds this as a fairly empty gesture to resolve a potential serious black eye. The lawyer in me thinks this is a brilliant move by the league that will save it a ton of money and credibility among fans. And on a practical level, I respect the fact that the NFL will put a substantial amount of money into research that might eventually help solve the problem. A drop in the bucket compared to what it could do, but a hell of a lot of money nonetheless.
posted by tahoemoj at 04:54 PM on August 29, 2013
And on a practical level, I respect the fact that the NFL will put a substantial amount of money into research that might eventually help solve the problem. A drop in the bucket compared to what it could do, but a hell of a lot of money nonetheless.
I'm not sure I can call $10 million for medical research a hell of a lot. For most things, I'd agree that is a lot of money. With medical research, I'm not sure how far that will really go. The downside to medical research is that it is VERY expensive.
posted by Mothball at 12:50 AM on August 30, 2013
Luckily, they have 18,000 test subjects lining up, so that's a few bucks off the research bill.
posted by Etrigan at 10:42 AM on August 30, 2013
I'm reading this can be paid over 20 years, but at least one-half must be paid in the first three years. I wanted to link a PDF of the proposed settlement, but it came up blank.
posted by jjzucal at 08:17 PM on August 30, 2013
Cue 6 zillion commenters on Yahoo! Sports and ESPN saying they'd happily get hit in the head for a lot less. By my math it would be $170,000/ player. For comparison, the current rookie salary floor is $420,000.