Court documents: 3,600 retired players may get NFL concussion payouts

Some 3,600 former NFL players are projected to receive monetary awards totaling $950 million under the proposed settlement to the league’s concussion litigation, according to a study filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Friday.

An additional 2,300 former players among the estimated 19,400 living retirees would be eligible for compensation, but aren’t expected to participate.

The report by Thomas Vasquez of the Analysis Research and Planning Corporation, commissioned by the lead attorneys for retired players, was among hundreds of pages of documents behind the settlement U.S. District Judge Anita Brody ordered to be released.

The report was completed in February before the NFL agreed to remove the $675-million cap on monetary awards.

Over the 65-year life of the settlement, the report includes projections that 1,757 retired players will be compensated for Alzheimer’s disease, 18 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 14 for Parkinson’s disease.

An additional 1,757 players are expected to be compensated for Level 2 dementia.

The families of 46 former players diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, after death are also eligible for compensation, the report said. Players diagnosed with CTE after Brody granted preliminary approval to the settlement on July 7 aren’t eligible to be compensated for the disease.

A separate report, also filed in court Friday, completed by the Segal Group for the NFL, discounted the possibility of future CTE cases in its settlement analysis.

“The model assumes that no other players will be diagnosed with CTE,” the report said in a footnote.

The NFL’s analysis projects 60% of retired players will participate in the settlement and receive monetary awards of $900 million.

Both reports say the original capped settlement, including adjustments for inflation, was sufficient to pay the awards over its 65 years.

The reports show, though, how the grid used to determine a retired player’s payout will limit the total compensation. Players aren’t eligible for the full award amount unless they have five seasons of NFL experience; the league’s report indicates the majority of retired players -- 12,705 -- have less experience.

The younger a retired player is when diagnosed with a qualifying condition, the more money he can receive.

“Adjusting for age at diagnosis reduces the average compensation significantly below the maximum monetary award levels,” the plaintiffs’ report said.

With ALS cases, for instance, the average projected payout is reduced because of age to $2.9 million from the maximum of $4 million. The average payout for Alzheimer’s, adjusted for age, plummets to $340,000, a 90% reduction from the maximum of $3.5 million.

The reports were released in response to requests by retired players, their attorneys and media outlets.

Players have until Oct. 14 to object to the settlement or opt out. A fairness hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19 in front of Brody.

Twitter: @nathanfenno