It's not a huge amount, but I think the implications from this type of legal action are pretty serious for any type of football, particularly the non-pro level.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15459418/b...

Would you take permanent brain damage in exchange for $712,000?

Whether this particular claim was valid or not is kind of beside the greater point. All schools and programs are vulnerable to this kind of liability because all football teams have players who regularly suffer concussions. Following protocols ameliorates the health and legal risks but does not eliminate them.

It's easy to bundle a lot of issues into one response, so I will try to break this down:

Permanent Brain Damage or $712,000?
I don't know how you can put a monetary value on health, or life. Typically judgments are awarded based on lost wages, estimated damages, etc. This seems to be for "pain and suffering."

But I'm not sure what the official definition of permanent brain damage is. From the report: "He continues to suffer from depression, migraine headaches, anxiety and difficulty sleeping, according to his lawsuit." If that is the definition, I would venture that a good amount of former players may experience the same thing. Do they all have permanent brain damage? Are they entitled to a settlement?

Liability:
You are absolutely right. Even signing a waiver doesn't protect the school. If more claims/settlements occur, this is another sign of the end of college football as we know it. If a player doesn't know his own name, and other players, coaches and trainers don't see that and still put him on the field, that's a problem. I'd like to believe that if someone HAD seen that, they would not have put him further in harm's way.

Unionization:
This is the tangible result of what a core of the unionization issue was about -- health of athletes. He was injured and ultimately had his scholarship taken away because of it. The unionization proposal would have stopped that practice and maybe would have prevented a lawsuit.

The Future:
How easy is this to repeat for other athletes? Get banged up, continue to play, then file a lawsuit alleging the school didn't take proper care of them? (valid claims or not)

A complete +1 for BTC. Great points. I thought the ESPN description very true to form. They speak out of multiple sides of their corporate mouths all the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/sports/ncaafootball/six...

Football should see decline in partipation in future years. Especially in suburbs. I know many parents, like me, who have seconds thoughts allowing current teens to play the game. That's gonna increase moving forward.

My boy will be Jr next year. He loves the game and practices. He's done after first concussion. But, he's not D1 talent level. Maybe D3. If he was a big recruit I'd have to weigh risk vs scholarship (no post grad debt load).

His cousins are graduating Yale this week. Barely saw field as OT. Both have physical issues. But...got 100k+ jobs on Wall St.

For their brains, not braun.

We all got dumber.