Guess Who Gets Screwed in NFL Concussion Settlement?

Were he still alive today, Junior Seau would not be covered by the NFL's concussion settlement. The landmark deal between the league and its retired players has been sold as essential relief for long-suffering players, resulting in payouts of at least $675 million. But Seau, even with all of his problems, would have received nothing. Any other player now suffering from those same issues would get the same bupkis.

For all the headlines blaring about huge awards from the settlement -- a maximum of $5 million for ALS and $3.5 million for Parkinson's disease -- most athletes won't see payouts anything like those. While ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment and certain cases of CTE diagnosed after death are all covered, behavioral issues, like those that plagued Seau -- and former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson, who also shot himself in the chest -- are not. Former players living with clear symptoms of CTE are simply out of luck. And none of this begins to describe the procedural hoops and rings of fire players must jump through in attempting to claim money from the deal.

By October 14, retired NFL players had to decide if they wanted to opt out of the settlement. Only a small fraction chose to forgo the benefits of the deal and preserve their right to sue the NFL in the future. But more than 200 people filed objections to the settlement, from attorneys to injured players.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11899196/nfl-concussion-settlement-bob-stern-objection

 

Without reading, lemme guess.

Not the doctors, lawyers or insurance companies?

 

So the NFL ginned up a cheap settlement that didn't do anything its own promises said it would do, then used that settlement for its PR purposes to show the world how proactive and compassionate it is.

Shocked, I am.

 

Yeah, the league is pretty awful about long term health care for former players and the players are basically forced to get what they can get because beating the NFL in court never seems to happen unless you're Al Davis.