Concussion-related settlement reached by NFL
The National Football League has agreed to pay $765 million to settle a lawsuit with over 4,000 former players over head injuries.
Dan Kaplan, NFL writer for the Sports Business Journal, says that even though most league watchers expected a larger settlement, this is still good news for many who were suffering from debilitating head injuries and will now be able to get the care they need instead of having to wait for litigation to be completed.
“Most of it — $675 million — will be direct benefits to the players and the families of players,” says Kaplan. “This is the good news.”
Kaplan says that if you factor in payments from insurance, this won’t be a huge blow to the NFL. But in terms of a blow to the NFL’s public relations, that’s another story.
Many fans may be upset with the arrangements of the settlement. However Kaplan says based on some recent press conferences, that might be changing.
“You could already start to see that storyline changing from the NFL did this to these guys and won’t give them a penny,” says Kaplan. “To now, they’re happy together.”
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