Judge Anita Brody is concerned that the settlement of the concussion lawsuit won’t have enough funding to cover retired players who develop severe cognitive impairment decades from now. And so she has declined to approve the global settlement pending further information that shows the funding will be sufficient.
Appearing Friday morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed confidence that the settlement will be approved.
“We think that there is sufficient funding,” Goodell said. “That’s why we reached the agreement that we did. And the plaintiffs are standing behind it, we’re standing behind it. We have to convince the judge that there are sufficient funds there to meet the demands going forward.”
There’s a very easy way to do that, as we’ve mentioned a time or two this week. If the league believes the $675 million pool of money (of the total $765 million settlement) will cover all claims that could be made over the next 65 years, then the league should commit to providing any extra money that will be needed if the pool of money runs out.
Sometimes, it’s that simple. Which of course means it never will happen.