Today the NFL and a large contingent of former players settled on a proposed settlement of $765 million dollars plus attorney fees avoiding months of further litigation with this current situation.
Here’s the breakdown via the full release from the ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Center.
- Baseline Medical Exams for Retired Players, capped at $75 million;
- Former Player Compensation for Injuries Suffered, $675 million;
- Additional One-Time NFL Contribution, if Settlement Administrator determines Injury Fund to be insufficient, $37.5 million;
- Research and Education Fund, $10 million;
- Costs of Notice to Class Members, not to exceed $4 million;
- One-half of cost of Compensation to Settlement Administrator, $2 million;
- Legal Fees and Litigation Expenses paid by NFL to Plaintiffs’ counsel, to be determined.
In addition to the breakdown, the $675 million WILL NOT be equally divided amongst the players involved. According to reports the former players will undergo individual testing where a final determination of the players payout will be based off those specific exams. The players, age, years played in the NFL and other relating medical conditions will also be considered. However there was no initial mention of what will happen in the wrongful death cases where the former player is already deceased.
There’s also potential for an additional $37.5 million to be paid by the independent settlement administrator according to The Big Lead. This according to that report doesn’t include the accumulated legal fees and litigation expenses.
Bottom line though it doesn’t seem like there’s any clear winners in this. Off hand the NFL will rid themselves of the current could hanging over their heads with this and former players involved will be taken care to some extent. However even though this current ordeal is settled (at least after a judge approves it) there’s a more than likely chance that we’ll see more lawsuits later on down the road with a whole new set of players.
h/t: ESPN, The Big Lead