Junior Seau's Children Settle Wrongful Death Lawsuit with NFL over Suicide

The family of Junior Seau has reached a settlement with the NFL over the Pro Football Hall of Famer's suicide in 2012.

Per Maryclaire Dale of the Associated Press, Seau's family received an undisclosed settlement stemming from the wrongful death lawsuit it filed against the league. 

"I'm glad that it's resolved for them now so they can move on with their lives," Seau family lawyer Steven Strauss Strauss said. "It took a long time. That was frustrating, but it was successfully settled, and that's good."

Seau's family was eligible for a payment of $4 million as part of the NFL's concussion settlement program, but they opted out of that deal to pursue a separate lawsuit. 

Strauss explained the family's decision in a statement issued to ESPN.com's Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru in September 2014:

"The family want to know why this settlement seems designed for expediency for the NFL and to ensure that information doesn't come out. And the Seau family wants the truth to come out. Since this litigation started, there hasn't been one document produced, there hasn't been one deposition taken. It seems very clearly designed to nip this in the bud and not have the truth come out, and that's not acceptable to the Seau family, and it's not acceptable to Junior's legacy."

Dale noted the NFL's original concussion settlement program "does not pay wrongful death claims to survivors for their own pain and loss."

Seau died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in May 2012. Five specialists at the National Institutes of Health concluded in January 2013 that the 20-year NFL veteran's brain tested positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.