The National Football League (NFL) owners may be a lot of things – dumb is generally not one of them. So, in what was clearly a “minimize the damage” move they have reached a settlement agreement with 4,500 former NFL players related to head injuries.
“This morning the league announced a settlement worth $765M has been reached in Philadelphia federal court between the NFL and more than 4,500 former players. If approved by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody, the deal would fund medical exams, concussion-related compensation and medical research. The proposed settlement comes after months of mediation between the sides and probably guarantees that the NFL wouldn’t be required to disclose internal files about what it knew about concussion issues and whether it hid findings of internal committees to protect the the league. The timing is right for an agreement: The NFL’s regular season starts in a week, and the Frontline special airs on PBS stations Oct. 8 and Oct. 15.”
Frontline execs have indicated they will edit the show to reflect the announcement of the agreement reached. To read the full store visit Deadline and learn about why ESPN pulled out as a co-producer of the documentary with PBS’s Frontline.
