re: Seau family opts out of concussion settlement

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Seau entered the NFL at a time when the CBA didn’t exist, due to the decertification of the NFLPA following the failed 1987 strike. For any concussions he sustained from 1990 through 1992, he wasn’t covered by a CBA.

The league nevertheless will try to exclude from the litigation any concussions suffered by Seau as of 1993, when the CBA returned. That date becomes important because the controversial Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee formed in 1994. The MTBI Committee allegedly concealed the risks of harm and discredited the research of others for nearly a generation — during which Seau continuously played pro football.

So it could be that, in the same year Seau inevitably enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his family’s lawsuit will gather momentum toward an outcome that will cost the NFL a lot more than $4 million, and that will expose plenty of evidence that otherwise will never be revealed publicly.

The smartest play for the NFL could be to privately attempt to persuade the Seau family to take a lot more than $4 million to settle the case. At a certain point, the number could become so large that it would be impossible to say no.

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