After N.F.L. Concussion Settlement, Feeding Frenzy of Lawyers and Lenders

The New York Times discusses the NFL settlement with Ted Frank.

The sales pitches were filled with urgency and emphasized familiarity. Act now or risk missing out on millions of dollars. Trust us because we are part of the “N.F.L. brotherhood.” “You have nothing to lose,” a former N.F.L. quarterback implored in one, “but money you’re entitled to and that you earned the hard way.”

The pleadings are aimed at former N.F.L. players who stand to receive checks from the largest legal settlement in sports history, a pool of money that may top $1 billion for retirees who sued the league for lying to them about the dangers of concussions as they got their heads pounded on the field.

Some players may get very little, but others with severe neurological diseases may receive as much as $5 million. Now lawyers, lenders and would-be advisers are circling, pitching their services and trying to get a cut of the money.

It may be standard practice for big legal settlements, but the fact that many players are cognitively impaired and may struggle to understand the terms of the services offered to them has raised alarm among player advocates, legal ethicists and the lawyers for the players who sued the N.F.L.

…

“With any middleman service, there are those who are doing it for a fair price and then you have people who are taking advantage,” said Ted Frank, a lawyer at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on class-action settlements. “But no one is going to help me fill out my claim for a $5 coupon.”

Read the full article at The New York Times.