The Supreme Court on Monday rejected petitioners challenging the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of concussion-related lawsuits.
The high court’s decision means that former players with injuries stemming from concussions will begin receiving payments. The NFL’s settlement covers more than 20,000 NFL retirees for the next 65 years.
A smaller group of former players had challenged the settlement on the grounds that it did not cover the full scope of potential victims. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the settlement in April and noted that the challenge to the settlement risked making the perfect the enemy of the good.
“This decision means that, finally, retired NFL players will receive much-needed care and support for the serious neurocognitive injuries they are facing,” said Christopher Seeger, co-lead counsel for the retired NFL players whose petition was denied Monday. “Despite the difficult health situations retired players face today, and that many more will unfortunately face in the future, they can take comfort in the fact that this settlement’s significant and immediate benefits will finally become available to them and last for decades to come.”
