A federal judge on Monday gave preliminary approval to the concussion compensation deal between the NFL and former players. The ruling comes two weeks after U.S. District Judge Anita Brody raised questions over whether the $675 million cap on damages paid by the league was sufficient to cover the claims of the roughly 20,000 potentially eligible former players. The league has since removed the cap and Brody signed off on the deal.
Here’s more from the Associated Press on the revised settlement:
The original settlement included $675 million for compensatory claims for players with neurological symptoms, $75 million for baseline testing and $10 million for medical research and education. The NFL would also pay an additional $112 million to the players’ lawyers, for a total payout of more than $870 million. The revised settlement eliminates the cap on overall damage claims but retains a payout formula for individual retirees that considers their age and illness. A young retiree with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, would receive $5 million, a 50-year-old with Alzheimer’s disease would get $1.6 million and an 80-year-old with early dementia would get $25,000. Even with the cap removed, both sides said they believe the NFL will spend no more than about $675 million on damage claims by ex-players… A fairness hearing on the final settlement will be held Nov. 19.
