The deadline for Retired NFL Football Players to register was August 7, 2017. You still may send registration information to the Claims Administrator, but it cannot accept late Registration Forms without a showing of good cause, as described in Section 4.2(c)(i) of the Settlement Agreement (click here to read the Settlement Agreement). Rules 14 and 15 in the Rules Governing Registration Determinations and Appeals (click here to read these Rules) explain how the Claims Administrator determines whether there are grounds for good cause relief.
If you submit a late registration, the Claims Administrator will notify you. If you want to challenge the Claims Administrator’s determination, you will have to provide an explanation for why you did not register by August 7, 2017. The Claims Administrator will review your explanation and approve or deny your request for a good cause extension. If you disagree with the Claims Administrator’s determination after your challenge, you can appeal to the Special Master.
You still may register as a Representative Claimant if you do so within 180 days after a court or other official appoints you as the authorized representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated or incompetent Retired NFL Football Player. The Claims Administrator cannot otherwise accept late Registration Forms unless there is a showing of good cause. Rules 14 and 15 in the Rules Governing Registration Determinations and Appeals (click here to read these Rules) explain how the Claims Administrator determines whether there are grounds for good cause relief.
If you submit a late registration, the Claims Administrator will notify you. If you want to challenge the Claims Administrator’s determination, you will have to provide an explanation for why you did not register within the permitted time period. The Claims Administrator will review your explanation and approve or deny your request for a good cause extension. If you disagree with the Claims Administrator’s determination after your challenge, you can appeal to the Special Master.
Reminder: If the Retired NFL Football Player completed registration and received a Notice of Registration Determination, you do not need to start a new registration to act as his Representative Claimant. Instead, the Claims Administrator may substitute you as Representative Claimant after you submit a Substitution of Representative Claimant Form, documents showing a court has authorized you to act on the Player’s behalf and a HIPAA Form. Click here to learn more about this substitution process.
Maybe. The Claims Administrator will accept a registration as a Derivative Claimant if it is submitted within 30 days after the associated Retired NFL Football Player (or his Representative Claimant) submits a Claim Package. Derivative Claimant registrations submitted more than 30 days after the associated Player (or his Representative Claimant) first submits a Claim Package are not timely and will be accepted only if there is a showing of good cause. Rules 12, 14 and 15 in the Rules Governing Registration Determinations and Appeals (click here to read these Rules) explain how the Claims Administrator determines whether there are grounds for good cause relief.
If you submit a late registration, the Claims Administrator will notify you. If you want to challenge the Claims Administrator’s determination, you will have to provide an explanation for why you did not register within the permitted time period. The Claims Administrator will review your explanation and approve or deny your request for a good cause extension. If you disagree with the Claims Administrator’s determination after your challenge, you can appeal to the Special Master.
The Claims Administrator will send you a Notice of Registration Determination explaining whether you properly registered and whether you are eligible for the BAP. If you do not agree with that Notice of Registration Determination, you may challenge the Claims Administrator’s determination by submitting two things to the Claims Administrator:
(a) A Registration Determination Challenge Form: You can submit this Registration Determination Challenge Form either through your secure online Portal or by mailing to the Claims Administrator the complete Registration Determination Challenge Form that was attached to your Notice of Registration Determination; and
(b) A “Sworn Statement in Support of Challenge to Registration Determination (SWS-1)” to provide any additional facts that support your challenge (click here for this form).
If you have any other evidence in support of your challenge, you may give that to the Claims Administrator as well.
If you challenge your initial registration determination, the Claims Administrator will send you a Notice of Registration Challenge Determination explaining its decision on your challenge. If you do not agree with that Notice of Registration Challenge Determination, you may appeal to the Special Masters by submitting to the Claims Administrator a Registration Challenge Determination Appeal Form. You can submit this Registration Challenge Determination Appeal Form either through your secure online Portal or by mailing to the Claims Administrator the complete Registration Challenge Determination Appeal Form that was attached to your Notice of Registration Challenge Determination. If you have any other evidence in support of your appeal, you may submit that to the Claims Administrator too.
Yes. The Special Masters adopted the Rules Governing Registration Determinations and Appeals, which cover registration determinations by the Claims Administrator and appeals made by a Settlement Class Member, Class Counsel or the NFL Parties under Section 4.3 of the Settlement Agreement to those determinations. These Rules are available here.
You can do this online (this is the fastest method) or by mailing a Registration Form:
1. Online: go to the Settlement Website and on the Register page, select what type of Settlement Class Member you are and follow the step-by-step instructions provided.
2. Mail: a Registration Form is available on the Forms page of the Settlement Website for you to download, print, complete and mail to the Claims Administrator (click here to get it).
No. It means only that you are registered and can then take additional steps to seek benefits in the Settlement Program. You must register before you can participate in the Baseline Assessment Program or submit a Claim Package for a Monetary Award or a Derivative Claim Package for a Derivative Claimant Award. You take those steps to get benefits after you register.
Contact the Claims Administrator to change your mailing address by calling 1-855-887-3485, emailing ClaimsAdministrator@nflconcussionsettlement.com, or writing to P.O. Box 25369, Richmond, VA 23260. Include your Settlement Program ID, if you know it, along with your address change.
You can contact the Claims Administrator to change your name or Taxpayer Identification Number by calling 1-855-887-3485 or writing to P.O. Box 25369, Richmond, VA 23260. Include your Settlement Program ID, if you know it, along with your name or Taxpayer Identification Number change. You should not email the Claims Administrator with your full Taxpayer Identification Number.
Yes. Section 4.2(b) of the Settlement Agreement requires all Settlement Class Members to provide their Social Security Number, if they have one, during registration. If you did not give the Claims Administrator your Social Security Number in registration, you must include it when submitting a Claim Form or Derivative Claim Form. Section 4.2(b)(i) requires Representative Claimants to identify the Social Security Number, if any, of the deceased or legally incapacitated or incompetent Player they represent.
The Settlement Agreement counts one Eligible Season for each season in which a Retired NFL Football Player was:
(a) On a Member Club’s Active List on the date of three or more regular or postseason games; or
(b) On a Member Club’s Active List on the date of one or more regular or postseason games and then spent at least two regular or postseason games on a Member Club’s injured reserve list or inactive list because of a concussion or head injury.
Retired NFL Football Players who were on a Member Club's Active List (sometimes called the "53-man roster") on the calendar day of a regular or postseason game receive credit for that game towards an Eligible Season, even when the Player was placed on the inactive or injured reserve list before the start of the game. If you believe you were deactivated on game day and that your number of Eligible Seasons is not accurate, you can request the Claims Administrator look into that issue for you.
One half of an Eligible Season exists if the Player was:
(a) On a Member Club’s practice, developmental, or taxi squad for at least eight regular or postseason games; or
(b) On a World League of American Football, NFL Europe League, or NFL Europa League team’s active roster on the date of three or more regular or postseason games; or
(c) On a World League of American Football, NFL Europe League, or NFL Europa League team’s active roster for one or more regular or postseason games and then spent at least two regular or postseason games on the World League of American Football, NFL Europe League, or NFL Europa League team’s injured reserve list or inactive list because of a concussion or head injury.
Players who were on a Member Club's practice squad for a bye week may count that bye week as a game towards credit for half an Eligible Season. Any Player who was on a Member Club's developmental or taxi squad who feels a bye week affects his calculation of Eligible Seasons should contact the Claims Administrator.
A Player cannot receive credit for more than one Eligible Season per year. To calculate the number of Eligible Seasons, each earned Eligible Season and each earned half of an Eligible Season are added together to reach the total number of Eligible Seasons – click here for a guide showing how to calculate Eligible Seasons.
The Claims Administrator already has NFL Football employment and participation data for many Retired NFL Football Players, which it uses to calculate and credit Eligible Seasons to those Players. Players and their Representative Claimants do not have to submit NFL Football employment and participation records unless they want to try to prove more Eligible Seasons than the Claims Administrator has been able to confirm for them.
Some Settlement Class Members have received notices saying the Claims Administrator does not have enough information to show they earned the number of Eligible Seasons required to establish Baseline Assessment Program eligibility or qualify as a Retired NFL Football Player under the Settlement Agreement. If you received such a notice, you can send the Claims Administrator any game day box scores, media reports, game day programs, or other documents showing you have the required number of Eligible Seasons.
Contact the Claims Administrator if you are unable to find any documents. Do not contact the NFL or a Member Club directly to ask for records. The Claims Administrator will research the situation further and ask the NFL Parties for any records the NFL or a Member Club may have and then get back to you. Click here to read an Alert about this topic.
First, know that the Claims Administrator will research the situation before issuing a Notice of Adverse Registration Determination. The Claims Administrator will ask the NFL Parties for any records the NFL or a Member Club may have about your playing history and will then get back to you. There is no need for you to contact the NFL or a Member Club directly. If the Claims Administrator cannot obtain sufficient records through these efforts, the Settlement Class Member will be given additional time to provide proof of playing NFL Football. You can do this by submitting records you might have such as contracts, programs, newspaper clippings, etc. In any event, the Claims Administrator will get you more information as they try to resolve the incomplete status of the registration.