Deadline to register for NFL concussion settlement nears, players impacted urged to come forward
It's called the largest legal settlement in sports history. The NFL's billion dollar concussion settlement with former players and former player families.
Time is running out for those players to take advantage of the millions some are owed.
CBS 58's Mike Curkov asked Shawn Wooden if the settlement was considered a huge deal when first announced. "I believe so. I believe it's a huge deal for retired players. It's a huge win for us. Is the settlement perfect? No, but it is definitely fair. It is definitely very good. It basically covers everybody. All retired players from July 2014 on or before that, players that were retired before that. It covers them for the next 65 years. It's a great win for us," said Wooden, a former Miami Dolphin, and Chicago Bear.
"We're coming on because on August 7th, there's a deadline that's going to be coming up. That's the deadline to register for benefits. Right now, we've got over 16,000 players and their families registered. But, as I said, there are about 21-22,000 players. We really want to reach out and push to get all of them in," said Christopher Seeger, Co-lead players' counsel in the NFL Concussion Settlement.
When asked how our viewers who have not played professional football should be looking at the concussion settlement, Seeger said that it raises awareness of concussions. "The case has many implications. Not just for the retired player community. But it has raised awareness of concussions. It has raised awareness beyond football into soccer, hockey or any contact sports. So, I think they should look at it as a positive thing that over 5,000 players put their name on a complaint, filed it, and sued the NFL. Now, it's not fun to be sued but we had reasons to sue them and reasons that generated over a billion dollars in value. Most importantly it was to get the word out though so that players, the people who play contact sports, the parents of children who play contact sports at least understand the risks and the dangers. So that if there is a concussion, it's treated not like a ding and you go back in the game but it's treated like an injury and you have the appropriate amount of time to recover," Seeger said.
To watch the full interview, see below.