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Supreme Court Rejects Appeals Filed by Objectors to NFL Concussion Settlement

The Supreme Court puts an end to appeals made by a class of objectors to the NFL's $765 million concussion settlement.
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected appeals filed on behalf of a class of objectors to a $765 million concussion settlement made between the NFL and approximately 20,000 current and former players. The Supreme Court agreed with an April 18 decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which held that while the objections were valid, reopening the settlement process risked "making the perfect the enemy of the good."

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The valid arguments, if you don't recall, were that the agreement ignored a large segment of CTE-related symptoms, and what's worse, if you did not opt out of the deal, you waived your right to sue the league for compensation. The settlement only contemplates postmortem CTE diagnoses—which is the only way the disease can currently be diagnosed—made between January 1, 2006, and July 7, 2014. Any CTE diagnoses made on July 8, 2014, or later will be barred from recovery under the terms of the settlement. For example, the family of Ken Stabler—diagnosed with CTE in February 2016, following his June 2015 death—gets nothing from this settlement. There is some cover for some of the more severe cognitive symptoms associated with CTE, but not for behavioral or mood disorders associated with the disease such as depression, suicidal thoughts, impulse control, or violent mood swings, like those experienced by Junior Seau and Dave Duerson before they each died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the chest.

With the Supreme Court representing the final word on the matter, players and families who actually are covered under the settlement can now start collecting money from the league.

[Bloomberg]