Former NFL players continue to add to the list of concussion-related lawsuits that the professional football league is facing, with the number of lawsuits now exceeding 3,400. That means the NFL is looking at potentially billions of dollars in legal damages should they lose court battles with the players, all of whom allege that the NFL knowingly withheld information about the safety of the game from players while they were active members of the league.
Many of those players are now suffering from disabilities and complications resulting from repeated concussions and trauma to the brain. They say the NFL knew about a link between concussion and brain diseases for decades but never made that information available to players.
In addition to the NFL, NFL Properties and Riddell, the league's helmet manufacturer, are also being accused by former players of failing to adequately protect football players.
With the NFL's financial well-being at stake, it is under pressure to adequately defend its role in addressing player safety. It is expected that the league will argue reasonable care/no negligence, which means that the league did not intentionally mislead players or withhold information. They will also maintain their long-held stance that the NFL never knew the dangerous effects of concussions.
The NFL is also likely to argue the issue at hand is addressed in the collective bargaining agreement signed between the league's team owners and the players, and that according to the legal agreement the lawsuits should be dismissed so that the issue can be addressed in the arbitration process. A number of other arguments, including assumption of risk, causation and contributory negligence, are expected to be made if the case goes to court.
It's possible that the case will become a class-action suit, given the enormity of individual lawsuits already filed and the numerous potential plaintiffs regarding the case. A class-action lawsuit could be significant, representing as many as 20,000 former NFL players. In such a scenario, the NFL could be looking at several billion dollars in losses.
However, regardless of how the case plays out in court, already the positive is that attention is being given to head trauma and has resulted in many states adopting legislation intended to better protect youth athletes who play football in order to limit repeated concussions.
Source: Sporting News, "SN concussion report: NFL could lose billions in player lawsuits," Glenn M. Wong, Aug. 22, 2012
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