Pro Football

A federal judge gave final approval to the legal settlement that set up the NFL’s new free-agency system, ratifying a plan that had essentially been in effect for two months.

U.S. District Judge David Doty said the labor agreement announced in January was “fair, reasonable and adequate” to the players.

Dozens of those players have already taken advantage of that agreement, as 78 unrestricted free agents have signed new contracts, 53 with new teams.

The decision seems likely to close out a major chapter in the NFL’s decades-long battle over free agency, although there will still be appeals filed by some of the 89 NFL or college players whose complaints about this plan were rejected by Doty.