In this modern day of the NFL when concussions and player safety are on everyone’s mind, former Gopher tight end Ben Utecht may have just unknowingly set a precedent for a massive concussion suit expected to be concluded in September.
Utecht won his arbitration case against the Cincinnati Bengals today, claiming successfully that he should have been paid his entire salary following a severe concussion he sustained in training camp in 2009.
The Bengals argued he could have been cleared to play but was not, and that they should not have to pay his entire salary.
The NFL is in the middle of a lawsuit being levied against them by thousands of former players.
After today’s decision, the league is arguing that concussion arbitration is a sufficient and fair way to settle concussion disputes. Having an internal system in place to settle disagreements on the topic are reportedly one of the main issues in tipping the former players v. NFL case.
