Kaepernick, Reid get settlements from NFL
With a public hearing looming and the threat of owners and league officials facing depositions, the NFL settled collusion cases brought by Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid.
The league, about to celebrate its 100th season, faced criticism from all sides thanks to the protest movement started by Kaepernick. Many Kaepernick supporters wanted to see him back on the field, while other fans said they wouldn’t watch if the league allowed players to protest during the national anthem.
The league and Kaepernick’s lawyer sent out statements Friday saying that “the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances” and that a confidentiality agreement would prevent either side from commenting further.
It remains unclear if the NFL admitted wrongdoing or how much money Reid, Kaepernick or others may have received. Considering the lost salary both players claimed and legal costs, the settlement could have climbed into the tens of millions of dollars.
“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL,” the league statement said. “As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party.”
Kaepernick’s lawyer Mark Geragos tweeted a similar statement.
The protests slowed down this season, as the NFL made contributions to organizations chosen by players and promised more attention to social justice issues. But the controversy reignited every time there was a development in the case.
A hearing was scheduled for later this month.
Kaepernick and Reid filed collusion grievances against the league, saying they were blacklisted because of protests during the national anthem at games. Kaepernick has not played in the league since 2016, while Reid missed three games last season before signing with Carolina. Kaepernick contended the owners violated their collective bargaining agreement with players by conspiring to keep him off teams.
While the players seemed intent on pursuing the cases, the league might not have been eager for those deposed — including commissioner Roger Goodell and several owners and league executives — to appear. Still, for the players to prove collusion is a mighty challenge because, according to the 2011 labor agreement between the union and league, a “club, its employees or agents” must have “entered into an agreement” to limit contract offers.
Kaepernick filed his grievance in August 2017. Arbitrator Stephen B. Burbank sent it to trial, denying the league’s request to throw out the former 49ers quarterback’s claims. Burbank’s decision meant there was enough evidence of collusion to keep the grievances going.
ELSEWHERE
Concussion settlement: The 6-year-old daughter of the late Aaron Hernandez missed a 2014 deadline to opt out of the league’s concussion settlement and can’t separately pursue a $20 million suit over his diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease, a judge ruled.
Yet Hernandez’s death in 2017 came too late for his family to seek up to $4million in compensation for suicides related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy under the class action settlement.
Hernandez spent three years with the New England Patriots before his 2013 arrest on the first of three homicide charges. The Patriots terminated his $40 million contract, and he never returned to the NFL.
U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia — where lawsuits were consolidated alleging the NFL hid what it knew about the risks of concussion injuries — ruled Thursday that he was effectively retired and therefore, along with his family, bound by the class action settlement for NFL retirees.
Bills: Buffalo released underperforming and high-priced veteran tight end Charles Clay. The move did not come as a surprise after Clay’s playing time diminished behind Jason Croom and Logan Thomas over the final six weeks of last season. Clay had one season left on a five-year contract and was due to make a $4.5 million base salary.
Clay’s production dropped off considerably last year. In 13 games, the eighth-year player finished with 21 catches for 184 yards and no touchdowns, which were all lows during his four seasons in Buffalo. Overall, Clay had 339 catches for 1,822 yards and nine touchdowns in 54 games with the Bills.