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NFL reaches concussion settlement

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Inky_Wretch, Aug 29, 2013.

  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Tobacco playbook start to finish. Deny deny deny, find enough idiots among the public and media to make it a "debatable" issue, settle for a pittance, keep printing money.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Yeah, there's no downside to this for the NFL.

    It seems crazy to say $765 million is chump change to the NFL, but when it's spread out the way this settlement is, it pretty much is...

    Hell, let LA have an expansion team and it more than pays for this whole thing...
     
  3. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Did Gene Upshaw negotiate the settlement?
     
  4. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    It's not as big a victory as one might think. The principle of NFL liability (and by extension, college, high school and Pop Warner liability) for concussions has been established. Whatever steps the league takes to prevent and treat future concussions are subject to litigation, too. Oh, and one more thing. A settlement involves two sides, so the plaintiffs had to think, however grudgingly, this was their best shot at compensation. Given the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, I find that a plausible if debatable decision. There were generations of big-time tobacco awards thrown out of court by judges who worshiped big business.
     
  5. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    The NFL reportedly pulled in $9.5 billion in revenue last season. This settlement is a pocket change.
     
  6. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    Yeah, this won't be the last lawsuit the NFL settles. And it also establishes a baseline for suits against other football entities.

    The NFL won this battle but the war isn't over.
     
  7. Brian

    Brian Well-Known Member

    Judge Snyder: Mr. Burns, in light of your unbelievable contempt for human life, this court fines you $3million.

    Montgomery Burns: Smithers, my wallet's in my right front pocket.
    [Smithers hands over the money]

    Montgomery Burns: Oh, and I'll take that statue of justice too.

    Judge Snyder: Sold!
     
  8. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Yep. I don't see any basis for criticizing the size of the settlement.
     
  9. Gator

    Gator Well-Known Member

    I might be the only one who never really agreed with the players in this case. To me, it was a cash grab for guys who made millions during their playing days. It would be like me driving 130 mph in a Lamborghini, crashing into a tree and then suing Lamborghini, claiming they hid the risks of driving fast.

    This really stood out to me in the settlement.

    "The settlement does not represent, and cannot be considered, an admission by the NFL of liability, or an admission that plaintiffs’ injuries were caused by football."

    Again, cash grab. If they really thought their careers or lives after football were in danger, they sure didn't show it when they were cashing those paychecks. Junior Seau made $57 million in his career. Jim McMahon made more than $700,000 a season. Tony Dorsett, who has been dealing with financial issues as early as 1985, made $450,000 that season and $550,000 in 1987. Nobody is forced to play.
     
  10. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    That shouldn't stand out in any way. It's legal boilerplate.

    The issue is what the league knew and didn't tell the players.
     
  11. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    To use Gator's example, if Lamborghini knew there was a steering problem in their cars at 120 mph but didn't warn owners not to drive that fast the company would be lose a ton of money in lawsuits. And people would be outraged that Lambo didn't divulge the high-speed steering problems.

    NFL players? Eh, they knew the risks. F them. What time is kickoff?
     
  12. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    Here's the thing though, what did we, or the NFL, know about concussions and their affects 25 or 30 years ago? Certainly nowhere near as much as we know now.
     
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