A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals this morning unanimously upheld the nearly $1B NFL concussion settlement, agreeing in a 69-page decision on all points with the lower court that approved the deal last year. The deal covers over 20,000 former NFL players. Notably, the Third Circuit did not find the settlement’s failure to pay for CTE diagnoses after the lower court approved the deal was a material issue. “Given what we know about CTE, many of the symptoms associated with the disease will be covered by this insurance,” the judges wrote. “And compensation for players who are coping with these symptoms now is surely preferable to waiting until they die to pay their estates for a CTE diagnosis. Moreover, we agree with the District Court that it would be an uphill battle to compensate for the mood and behavioral symptoms thought to be associated with CTE.” The objectors to the settlement appear to have three options now: drop the appeals, appeal to the full Third Circuit or appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The three judges did not deny some of the validity to the objectors’ arguments. However, in the end, they concluded of the settlement, “Though not perfect, it is fair.” The judges also dismissed the importance of NFL Senior VP/Health & Safety Policy Jeff Miller conceding before Congress last month the link between CTE and playing football. The objectors had cited the admission as a reason to upend the settlement. “The NFL’s statement is an important development because it is the first time, as far as we can tell, that the NFL has publicly acknowledged a connection between football and CTE,” they wrote. “On the other hand, the NFL is now conceding something already known. The sheer number of deceased players with a post-mortem diagnosis of CTE supports the unavoidable conclusion that there is a relationship, if not a causal connection, between a life in football and CTE.”
