Supreme Court declines to take up NFL concussion case, settlement final
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review the concussion settlement between the NFL and retired players, a move that will finally allow payments to be made to those covered in a deal first reached more than three years ago.
The nation’s highest court passed on the writ of certiorari sought by the estate of Cookie Gilchrist, a running back who played six years in the AFL before the 1970 merger of the two leagues. Gilchrist’s estate was the only objector to the settlement after the Third Circuit Court of Appeals twice denied an appeal sought by about 70 players earlier this year.
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“This decision means that, finally, retired NFL players will receive much-needed care and support for the serious neurocognitive injuries they are facing,” Christopher Seeger, co-lead counsel for the retired NFL players in the settlement, said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. “These courageous men and their families, who in the face of great adversity took on the NFL, have made history. 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.”
The NFL agreed to cover more than 20,000 retired players at a cost that could surpass $1 billion in a reworked settlement approved by a federal judge in April 2015. The original settlement, which came after about 5,000 concussion-related lawsuits were filed against the league, was reached in August 2013, but U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody pushed the two sides to eliminate the cap on what the NFL had to pay.
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"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has decided not to review the unanimous and well-reasoned decisions of Judge Brody and the Third Circuit approving the settlement of this litigation," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email to USA TODAY Sports. "We look forward to working with Class Counsel and Judge Brody to implement the settlement and provide the important benefits that our retired players and their families have been waiting to receive."
Seeger said more than 11,000 retired players have pre-registered for benefits laid out in the settlement.
