Nfl reaches settlement with former players

RolandDeschain

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Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer 11m
Some of the breakdown: $75M for medical exams; $675M to compensate ex-players; $10M for research/education.

Wow. That's a lot of dough to past players.
 

kidhawk

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It does sound like a lot of money, but considering the impact of losing a lawsuit like this and the amount of money the NFL makes in any given season, it's a drop in the bucket. Think of it this way, $765 million is mearly $24 million per team or less than 1/5 of the annual salary cap. A small price to pay to keep the game alive and well.
 

pehawk

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I'm not a fan of lawsuits. And, this is kind of like me suing Marlboro for smoking, I made the choice, so its senseless. However, the NFL has always threw tantrums over doing anything for retired players. They're consistently a decade or so behind their peers.

So, its a wrong way to make something right, IMO.
 

Marvin49

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IMO, the NFL got off on this one. I thought an eventual settlement would be measured in Billions, not Millions.
 

Marvin49

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kidhawk":7f3853ej said:
It does sound like a lot of money, but considering the impact of losing a lawsuit like this and the amount of money the NFL makes in any given season, it's a drop in the bucket. Think of it this way, $765 million is mearly $24 million per team or less than 1/5 of the annual salary cap. A small price to pay to keep the game alive and well.

...and they pay 50% of it over 3 years and the rest over the next 17 years.

NFL just got themselves off a HUGE hook.
 

RolandDeschain

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pehawk":rh9y0b03 said:
I'm not a fan of lawsuits. And, this is kind of like me suing Marlboro for smoking, I made the choice, so its senseless. However, the NFL has always threw tantrums over doing anything for retired players. They're consistently a decade or so behind their peers.

So, its a wrong way to make something right, IMO.
Yeah, using a product that is physically addictive and is intended to kill you through its intended use over time is the same as the NFL. I agree that this lawsuit doesn't seem very legitimate, but being anti-lawsuit against tobacco companies is way different, IMO.
 

pehawk

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Roland, for a grammatical stickler your comprehension is lacking.

The point is, suing over playing in the NFL makes as much sense as me suing over tobacco. I.e., it doesn't make sense.
 

Smelly McUgly

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Well, back when people were led to believe that tobacco was harmless or even healthy (see all those old '50s ads about how doctors recommend them for all sorts of health issues), I would think that a lawsuit for smoking would be in order for those smokers. Same with the NFL. These players were sent back into games with head injuries, and many felt that they had to play with them or risk losing their jobs. I see both these types of lawsuits as merited.

Now, someone who chose to start smoking in, say, 2000 would have not one leg to stand on because we know how harmful nicotine and all the additives in cigarettes are.
 

pehawk

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Smelly McUgly":1y5k55ev said:
Well, back when people were led to believe that tobacco was harmless or even healthy (see all those old '50s ads about how doctors recommend them for all sorts of health issues), I would think that a lawsuit for smoking would be in order for those smokers. Same with the NFL. These players were sent back into games with head injuries, and many felt that they had to play with them or risk losing their jobs. I see both these types of lawsuits as merited.

Now, someone who chose to start smoking in, say, 2000 would have not one leg to stand on because we know how harmful nicotine and all the additives in cigarettes are.

Yup, that's the good of this lawsuit. Caring for NFL vets the league shit on from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's.
 

sutz

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Regardless, I'm glad that the league at least acknowledges that they are trading the health of their players to sell to us as entertainment.

It's the right thing to do to have them pony up to help the injured players from years past and for the research to help present and future players.
 

RolandDeschain

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pehawk":8940aob9 said:
Roland, for a grammatical stickler your comprehension is lacking.

The point is, suing over playing in the NFL makes as much sense as me suing over tobacco. I.e., it doesn't make sense.
You're comparing two very different things. I completely understand the point you're TRYING to make, (you chose to start it, so you suffer the consequences) but your chosen topic for comparison - tobacco lawsuits - is a very poor choice. The NFL isn't a physical addiction, it doesn't annoy those around them, and it doesn't kill you. I mean, other than those three tiny things, sure, they're very comparable. :roll: You're the one lacking in the comprehension department at the moment.
 

pehawk

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I'm speaking from the plaintiff's perspective. Its germane.

Go tilt a windmill.
 

SmokinHawk

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I think the lawsuit had plenty of merit. Imagine getting your bell rung, then being informed by your coach that under the threat of losing your job, you need to get back on the field. Years later, because your coach effectively coerced you in to exacerbating an injury to the point where your short term memory is crippled and you are fighting daily with untreatable depression and rage, you are able to live only a moderately functional life.

The merit of this suit comes from the fact that not only did their employers behave with negligence (by putting them on the field with an injury), that negligence was willful and reckless in nature. In the 1980s, Medical staffs league wide started to become aware of the far reaching effects of concussions, but shielded players from the truth. Given how many former players have committed suicide due to CTE symptoms, and the fact that until the 1990s, the superstars of the NFL weren't exactly "fat paid", the NFL needs to do what is right and help the people who made them so god damned much money. Their actions created damages, and those damages are reflected in the sum of money awarded by the settlement.
 

pehawk

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That's a good point, Smokin, all the way around.
 

sutz

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SmokinHawk":352gqjdr said:
I think the lawsuit had plenty of merit. Imagine getting your bell rung, then being informed by your coach that under the threat of losing your job, you need to get back on the field. Years later, because your coach effectively coerced you in to exacerbating an injury to the point where your short term memory is crippled and you are fighting daily with untreatable depression and rage, you are able to live only a moderately functional life.

The merit of this suit comes from the fact that not only did their employers behave with negligence (by putting them on the field with an injury), that negligence was willful and reckless in nature. In the 1980s, Medical staffs league wide started to become aware of the far reaching effects of concussions, but shielded players from the truth. Given how many former players have committed suicide due to CTE symptoms, and the fact that until the 1990s, the superstars of the NFL weren't exactly "fat paid", the NFL needs to do what is right and help the people who made them so god damned much money. Their actions created damages, and those damages are reflected in the sum of money awarded by the settlement.
I agree, except possibly with that last statement. I'm with the poster upstream who said that they got off easy.
 

RolandDeschain

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Another thing to keep in mind is that nobody knew about the cumulative effects of concussion during the whole time frame in mind, here. This is only knowledge that has come up in the medical community in the past 10-15 years. Huge damages require proving intent; and does anybody really think the NFL knew the truth about concussions before the medical community at large did, and they were covering it up to keep the game afloat? Highly, highly doubtful.
 
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Subzero717

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Just read that in the terms i f the settlement the NFL is NOT acknowledging that football was the cause of their issues.
 

mikeak

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This is just like the Tobacco lawsuit. Both lawsuits were not about the problems that participants had (cancer & concussions) they were about the fact that the company in charge did everything they could to hide evidence about the negative impact.

The NFL kept having doctors on teams that sent players out after huge hits despite knowing specific cases where long term impacts were huge. They paid out money to some players due to the concussions they had while at the same time continuing to say concussions were not a long term problem.

This settlement is very surprising to me. I can't believe it is less than $2billion. It states that individual plaintiffs can get $3 to $4 million max well there are only about 200 players that could hit the max before the full fund was depleted......out of 18,000 that played the game. There were about 6,000 (I could be wrong on that number) that already joined the lawsuit even if we went to the extreme and said nobody else will sign up for money if you split the $650million on those 6,000 players you get an average of $108,000.

I would have expected much more like $1-2 billion AND healthcare for all former players who played more than one year or didn't play longer due to head injuries
 

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