Judge approves fix to stem race bias in NFL concussion deal

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Black retired football players who were denied payments for dementia in the NFL's $1 billion concussion settlement can seek to be retested or have their claims rescored to eliminate racial bias in the testing and payout formula, under a revised plan finalized Friday.

Outrage over the use of "race-norming" in the dementia testing — which assumed that Black people have a lower cognitive baseline score, making it harder for them to show mental declines linked to football — forced the NFL and players' lawyers back to the negotiating table last year.

The revisions could allow many retired players to resubmit their claims and add $100 million or more to the NFL's legal tab. The NFL, through the fund, has paid out more than $800 million to date, nearly half for dementia claims. The dementia awards average about $600,000.

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FILE - Pittsburgh Steelers NFL football player Najeh Davenport is shown in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

"Thousands of Black players stand to benefit from these changes to the settlement," said lawyer Cyril V. Smith, who represents former players Najeh Davenport and Kevin Henry, whose 2020 race discrimination lawsuit brought the issue to light.

Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody in Philadelphia, who has overseen the NFL concussion case for a decade, dismissed their lawsuit but ordered the parties to address the problem. She approved the negotiated changes in an order filed Friday.

More than 3,300 former players or their families have sought awards for brain injuries linked to their playing days, more than 2,000 of them for moderate to