MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The NFL has agreed to pay $42 million as part of a settlement with a group of retired players who challenged the league over using their names and images without their permission.
Terms of the settlement were announced on Monday. The league will use the money to fund a trust over the next eight years that will benefit retired players. The settlement also establishes a new licensing agency for retired players to ensure they are compensated for the use of their identities in promotional materials.
Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea and five other retired players filed the federal class-action lawsuit in Minneapolis in 2009 accusing the NFL exploiting retired players’ identities in films, highlight reels and memorabilia to market the league’s “glory days” without compensating the players.
