Concussion claims exceed $500 million
More than $500 million in claims were approved as of Monday under the NFL’s concussion settlement, nearly a decade earlier than league officials estimated they would reach that amount.
The settlement, which took effect January 2017, resolved thousands of lawsuits that accused the NFL of hiding what it knew about the risks of repeated concussions.
It covers retired players who develop Lou Gehrig’s disease, dementia or other neurological problems believed to be caused by concussions suffered during their pro careers, with awards as high as $5 million for the most serious cases.
Claims administrators in the settlement released an updated report on the concussion-settlement information website, saying about $502 million had been approved in less than two years of the settlement. The original actuarial estimates from the NFL forecast a little more than $400 million would be paid in the first decade. Darnold signs: The Jets inked rookie quarterback Sam Darnold to a four-year, $30.25 million deal, ending the contract holdout of the NFL’s No. 3 overall draft pick.
The USC alum missed the first three days of training camp practice while his representatives and the team worked out the details.
The 21-year-old is expected to compete with Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater for the Jets’ starting job. Injuries: Carolina suffered its second potentially significant training camp injury in three days as cornerback Ross Cockrell was carted off the field with a lower left leg injury. Cockrell was injured attempting to break up a pass in the end zone.
Green Bay inside linebacker Jake Ryan, the team’s secondleading tackler last season, was carted off the field with an apparent right leg injury.