There is a settlement in the NFL concussion litigation, Judge Brody has announced.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by SNR

So will that put things behind us? Does the NFL have their asses legally covered for future players that go through the league?

Honestly, I'm not sure how.

It would depend on the notice sent to the 'class' and exactly what the class consists of. If it consists of all NFL players that to have played over the last 40 years, then theoretically it could largely resolve the matter.

However, I'm certain a fair number of these guys would've opted out of the class in order to maintain their own cause of action in the future. If that's the case, this settlement has no binding effect on them.

Perhaps someone with actual class action experience can fill in some details, but I don't see how this can be binding on any members of the class that elected to opt out or may not have rec'd notice. I also think that's how they came to this '4,500 litigants' language; the class is incredibly broad ("All NFL players since the Magna Carta") and any player that was included in that class that rec'd notice but did not proactively opt out of the class is deemed a litigant.