Concussion settlement costs rise

Since the NFL early last year finalized a massive class action settlement to defuse thousands of concussion and brain injury claims from former players, the estimate for the total payout over the 65-year life of the deal has consistently been in the neighborhood of $1 billion.

But that figure now appears far too low. In a recent federal court filing, the lawyer who made the initial claim against the NFL estimated that at the current pace of retiree payouts, the former players will receive $1.36 billion, a figure that may itself still be meager.

“It wouldn’t surprise me [if it’s double $1.3 billion],” said Jason Luckasevic, an attorney with Goldberg, Persky & White. “I was very conservative. But the key is are they going to in fact pay those who have qualifying diagnoses as they promised them.”

Sources close to the NFL said the league’s internal estimates show far higher payouts than $1 billion, in fact as much as more than twice that.

The NFL did not reply for comment.

When the NFL reached a preliminary agreement with the retirees in 2014, that deal included a cap on payouts of $765 million, plus $112 million in legal fees, and $75 million for health screening. The federal judge overseeing the case rejected the cap, and the league agreed to an opened-ended package.

According to the NFL concussion settlement website, 230 awards totaling $276 million have already been paid out in the first 13 months of the settlement. Based on this pace, Luckasevic estimated the $1.36 billion figure.

That is slightly higher than the one offered in a court filing also last month by co-class counsel Chris Seeger of $1.3 billion. Adding in the baseline assessment test costs, education fund, and attorney fees, Seeger estimated a total cost of $1.5 billion.

As much as the cost of the settlement is rising, several of the lawyers involved claim the league is dragging its feet on payouts. To date, “more than 25 percent of our clients’ claims reaching resolution will involve an appeal,” Luckasevic wrote in a declaration last month to the court, a complaint echoed by other trial lawyers.

The NFL has several ways to pay for the settlement. In May 2016, owners voted to tap $150 million of an unused revenue-sharing pool, with the chance of another $150 million from that funding source. The league can also assess its teams, which plan to treat that expense as a deductible business expense.

The league is also embroiled in litigation with insurers over their coverage. The insurers contend the league knew of the dangers of head injuries from playing football and thus insurance should not come into play. The league disagrees.