Concussion Claim Filed On Behalf Of Summerall

The widow of legendary broadcaster Pat Summerall filed a concussion claim with the NFL earlier this month.

Cheri Summerall, the wife of the former NFL placekicker and longtime CBS and Fox sportscaster, filed a claim with the league on Sept. 8 to show solidarity with other former players who are looking for compensation for concussion-related ailments.

Summerall died of cardiac arrest on April 16, 2013 at age 82 at St. Paul University Hospital in Dallas.

Attorney James Acho filed the claim on behalf of the Summerall estate for football-related dementia, of which Summerall was diagnosed by Dr. Kyle Womack at UT Southwestern. The claim seeks monetary compensation, although considering Summerall's age when he was diagnosed, it's unlikely to be a substantial amount, Acho said.

“I filed the claim because it is what Pat wanted, and even though Pat was not in the same financial dire straits that many of his former colleagues are, he always felt all for one, one for all,” Acho said via email. “He felt a deep sense of esprit de corps with his fellow ex-players.”

The NFL agreed to pay $1 billion to more than 20,000 former players for concussion-related medical issues in 2016.

Cheri Summerall said her late husband “harbored no bitterness toward the NFL,” but he supported the lawsuit filed in 2012.

“Pat believed the men who built the game should be taken care of and that's why we filed this,” Cheri Summerall said. “It was out of principle. It is also a show of support for the cause at large.”