Infographic: The NFL's Puny Concussion Settlement, Visualized

Reuben Fischer-BaumReuben Fischer-Baum|published: Thu 29th August, 16:14 2013

As Peter King first reported earlier today, the NFL has agreed to pay out $765 million over 20 years to settle the concussion lawsuit brought by 4,500 former players. ( More will likely be added to settle the players legal fees.) Lots of people have pointed out that $765 million is less than 10 percent of the NFL's roughly $9 billion in annual revenue, and Peter King thinks these people are dumb:


So, will $765 million make a dent in the NFL's coffers? Well, if the NFL keeps generating $9 billion in annual revenue for the next 20 years, which is a very conservative estimate given the growth of the league, it would bring in $180 billion by the time the concussion money was all paid out. Obviously revenue isn't the same as profit, but the league isn't exactly scraping by. Here's what $180 billion looks like against $765 million, with each stack of bills representing $250 million:

Hey, $765 million is kind of a steal! It will come out to $150,000-$170,000 per plantiff, $38 million per year, and an affordable $76.5 million per every known concussion that Troy Aikman had. Chump change? Yeah, pretty much.

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