Report: NFL Concussion Settlement 'Routinely' Fails to Deliver Money, Medical Care

The concussion settlement the NFL struck with former players "routinely fails to deliver money and medical care to former players suffering from dementia and CTE," according to the Washington Post's Will Hobson.

In 2015, a federal judge approved a settlement between the NFL and a group of more than 5,000 retired players. Under the terms of the deal, players were entitled to get a monetary award if they were deemed to be suffering neurological problems that stemmed from playing football.

Hobson detailed how the settlement was less straightforward than one might believe.

"The settlement's definition for dementia requires more impairment than the standard definition used in the United States," he wrote. "Several doctors who have evaluated players told The Post that if they used the settlement's definition in regular care, they would routinely fail to diagnose dementia in ailing patients."

Carmela Tartaglia, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Toronto, told Hobson she thought the settlement was crafted "just to save the NFL money."

Brad Karp, an attorney representing the NFL, "disputed The Post's findings and argued the amount the settlement has paid proves it's managed fairly," per Hobson.

Hobson reported there's also a level of frustration from former players and their families toward Christopher Seeger, the most prominent lawyer for the players who acknowledged the definition for dementia is "a notch above" in the settlement.

Shawn Wooden, a former defensive back who played eight years in the NFL, contended that was never communicated properly to the players as the process was unfolding.

Sallye Benecke, the widow of former player Freeman White, said the "whole case feels like a bait-and-switch." Her late husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2013, but his settlement claim was denied in 2018 because a doctor reviewing his case said his cognitive issues may have stemmed in part from a vitamin B12 deficiency. Steven Arkin, White's personal doctor, told Hobson the vitamin deficiency had already been identified and treated.

This isn't the first time former players and their families have raised serious concerns over the concussion settlement.

The NFL said in 2021 it would stop using "race-norming" in determining the payouts issued.

ESPN explained how the practice "has been used by scientists for decades as a way to correct for the lower levels of education often found in minority communities." In the case of the settlement, some argued Black players were encountering more difficulties in proving they were suffering from a cognitive disease due to the "race-norming" being applied.