According to the NYT, a vast majority of NFL vets give up their lifetime medical coverage in favor of a lump-sum settlement. The noted exception: former Packer Terrell Buckley. Buckley's worried that his chronic headaches and short-term memory loss aren't going away anytime soon.
One of the relatively few players to avoid the temptation to settle was Terrell Buckley, the former star defensive back who played primarily for the Green Bay Packers and the Miami Dolphins and retired in 2005. Buckley testified in his workers’ compensation deposition in March 2009 that, beyond many orthopedic issues, he experiences painful headaches and short-term memory loss. He turned down the insurance company’s settlement offers — in part, he said, because of the unanswered questions surrounding the long-term effects of football head injuries.
“You see what’s happening to some guys, and it’s pretty scary,” said Buckley, now a strength and conditioning coach for his old college program at Florida State. “I pray and hope that I’ll never have to use it for that, but it’ll be there.”
Perhaps Buckley has a few more brain cells left than most of his colleagues.
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