The NFL recently settled a lawsuit with retired players for $765M. Approximately 4,500 ex-players were involved in this legal action and the average payout is $170,000 per player. Half of the settlement will be paid out over three years with the balance to be paid over 17 years. A fund of $675M will be set up to pay for severe cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and ALS. The NFL has no admission of guilt and the players will have to line up to prove that their injuries deserve the money now. For a $10B per year revenue juggernaut the NFL should be ashamed. This deal does nothing but sweep the issue under the rug for now. Let’s dig deeper into why this settlement stinks to high heaven.
The NFLPA (NFL Players Association) cites that the average lifespan of a player is 3.3 years. If you look at the size and speed of the players the longevity makes sense. With the advent of better research and awareness, concussions can be diagnosed with certainty. Using baselines for the players it eliminates them coming back to play before they should. I like that part of it. Here is what I do not like: THE HELMET and bogus rule changes that do nothing to help the game.
Riddell is the Official Helmet of the NFL. This means that no other helmet can be used by a player even if it does a better job of preventing injuries. Riddell pays a fee to the NFL for this privilege. I side with the group that says that competition will build the best helmet. The NFL does not work like that. You have to pay to play. But these players are risking their quality of life now and after football because all precautions are not being taken to provide the best helmet. Players know the risks associated with the hits that occur in the NFL. But that does not excuse the NFL from doing everything necessary to help prevent injuries.
Roger Goodell and the NFL know that their consumers can’t live without football. They come up with ridiculous rules to make it look like they are trying to protect the players by imposing fines on hits to the head. Most experts believe that Miami’s Dustin Keller’s wretched knee injury was due to the rules on hitting to the head. The players say to themselves if they are going to fine us for high hits we have to go low. This myopic reasoning by Goodell, the $30M per year Commissioner, has hurt the game. He needs to fix the problem and stop masking the symptoms.
This lawsuit smacks of a feeble attempt by the NFL to make this issue go away. If you settle the lawsuit it does not hang out there as another season starts. The NFL almost had the case thrown out so the NFLPA decided to make a deal to get something for their injured warriors. The judgment award is a drop in the bucket and is insulting. Goodell wanted to get rid of the lawsuit because it was a noose around his neck. Nothing changes moving forward and the issue remains the same. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau both committed suicide because their brains were basically scrambled as a result of years of abuse called the NFL. Winning this judgment will not bring them back. How many more families will have to bury their sons because the NFL is more concerned with making money than taking care of their employees?
The next time you hear a star player signing a ridiculous contract make sure you factor in that he probably will not play for the length of the contract. And there is a high probability that by the time he is fifty he will not be able to pick up his grand kids or remember their names. The NFL should be ashamed of this settlement. It does not go far enough and leaves a black eye on the league.
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