Final approval of the preliminary settlement of concussion claims against the NFL likely will not come until early next year, class co-lead counsel Chris Seeger told reporters yesterday after the nearly four-and-a-half-hour fairness hearing in federal district court in Philadelphia. That is presuming Judge Anita Brody approves the settlement, which appears likely after she raised no red flags on the deal despite strenuous opposition from some players through their counsel. If Brody approves but the opponents appeal, that could hold up the NFL's settlement money, Seeger said. An appeal could take a year to 18 months, he said. Steven Molo, who represented several opponents of the deal, and others made vigorous arguments to Brody she should reject the deal because it does not cover CTE, a brain disease linked to hits to the head. Steve Marks, who represents named plaintiffs in the case Shawn Wooden and Kevin Turner, who has ALS, blasted Molo for possibly holding up the deal. "I don't think his intentions are good because you never would do that to a player like Kevin Turner," he said while speaking to reporters with Seeger after the hearing. NFL outside counsel Brad Karp described himself as pleased with the day, and said he does not expect the judge to ask for changes in the deal. She did do that once, 11 months ago nixing the first agreement. The two sides then turned the $765M, 65-year pact into one that had no cap on spending, and excised other provisions. Brody preliminarily approved the deal in July.
