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Commissioner Roger Goodell finally shared his thoughts on the NFL‘s concussion lawsuit settlement on Wednesday. Fans have been awaiting word from the commish on the matter and to no one’s surprise, Goodell thinks the settlement is more than fair. Some have questioned whether $765 million was really enough to make things right, considering that the league takes in around $10 billion per year in annual revenue.
Goodell of course pointed out that there’s a big difference between making $10 billion and accumulating $10 billion in revenue. Although, you don’t have to be an economist to figure that one out.
Here’s one of the commissioner quotes, as he defended the amount of the settlement:
“So this is a significant amount of money [and] the plaintiffs also believed it was an appropriate amount. The mediator felt it was an appropriate amount. It’s a tremendous amount of money that we think is going to go to the right purpose, which is helping players and their families. So $765 million is a lot of money.”
While it’s probably safe to assume that the former players could have held out for more money, I believe it was a good time for both parties to settle and put the huge lawsuit behind them. But the big question going forward – have we seen the end of concussion lawsuits against the league? We all know there are veteran players still in the game that have lingering head trauma issues, so what happens to them when they retire? Do they get a settlement as well? It seems likely that this issue is not over quite yet.
As far as future NFL players are concerned, I believe that the league should require waivers to avoid legal action going forward. The risks of playing football are very well known at this point and waivers would be the only true way for the league to solve this problem (from a legal standpoint). It might sound cruel, but the NFL is going to do something to ensure it doesn’t have to keep paying out millions of dollars.
Related:
Opinion – Goodell, NFL Swindle Former Players With Settlement
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