The NCAA concussion settlement is a class-action agreement that funds a 50-year medical monitoring program for former college athletes, paid for by the NCAA and its insurers with $70 million. It gives eligible former players free screenings and clinical evaluations for concussion-related and neurodegenerative conditions, and it runs through November 18, 2069.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions The case, In re National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Concussion Injury Litigation, became final on November 18, 2019, and the monitoring program opened to class members on February 18, 2020.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility is broad. Any person who played an NCAA-sanctioned sport at an NCAA member school on or before July 15, 2016, is a class member, provided they did not opt out of the settlement.2NCAA. Arrington Class Settlement Information Every sport counts, not just football. Every division counts. And you do not need to have been diagnosed with a concussion during your playing career to participate.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions
Roughly four million former athletes received direct notice of the settlement, and only about 1,884 opted out.3Courthouse News Service. NCAA Concussion Settlement Final Approval Order If you never affirmatively opted out and you played before that July 2016 cutoff, you are in.
What the Program Actually Provides
The program is medical monitoring, not medical treatment. It pays for diagnostic screening and clinical evaluation. It does not pay for ongoing care, therapy, or medication, and it does not compensate anyone for injuries they have already suffered.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions
What you can receive is up to two in-person evaluations over the life of the program, with the possibility of a third granted individually at the discretion of the Medical Science Committee. The evaluations look for persistent post-concussion symptoms and for cognitive, mood, behavioral, and motor problems associated with mid- to late-life neurodegenerative disease. There are no out-of-pocket costs, co-pays, or deductibles for qualifying participants. Your results go to you, or to a physician you designate, and are not shared with the NCAA without your written consent.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions
Alongside the monitoring fund, the NCAA agreed to spend $5 million over ten years on concussion research and to require concussion-management changes at member schools, including pre-season baseline testing in every sport, a ban on same-day return to play after a concussion, and physician clearance before a concussed athlete returns to practice or competition.2NCAA. Arrington Class Settlement Information
How to Sign Up
Participation runs through the official settlement website, collegeathleteconcussionsettlement.com. The steps are straightforward:
- Register an account. You’ll need your Social Security number and date of birth for identity verification and HIPAA compliance. If you can’t register online, you can request printed materials by calling 1-877-209-9898 or emailing info@collegeathleteconcussionsettlement.com.
- Complete the screening questionnaire designed by the Medical Science Committee. Participants under 50 can retake it once every five years; participants 50 and older can retake it once every two years.
- If your questionnaire score qualifies you, the Program Administrator notifies you and helps schedule an in-person evaluation at one of the regional centers around the country.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions
What You Gave Up, and What You Kept
This part matters, especially if you have symptoms. Class members who did not opt out released their right to bring class-wide claims against the NCAA for medical monitoring and for personal injury. They kept the right to file an individual personal injury lawsuit.4GovInfo. In Re NCAA Student-Athlete Concussion Injury Litigation, Preliminary Approval Order
So the settlement gives you free screenings. It does not give you money for a brain injury you’ve already sustained, and it does not stop you from suing the NCAA on your own for one.
Individual Lawsuits Since the Settlement
Because that individual right survived, personal injury cases against the NCAA have continued, and some have produced substantial verdicts.
In October 2025, an Orangeburg County, South Carolina jury awarded $18 million to Robert Geathers, a former defensive end at South Carolina State University who played from 1977 to 1980, and his wife Debra. The jury found the NCAA negligent for failing to warn Geathers of the long-term effects of concussions and concluded that the NCAA “unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts” beyond the risks inherent in football. Robert Geathers received $10 million; Debra Geathers received $8 million for loss of consortium.5CBS Sports. NCAA Found Negligent in Concussion Trial, Ordered to Pay Ex-College Football Player and Wife $18 Million The NCAA said it disagreed and was “prepared to pursue our rights on post-trial motions and on appeal, if necessary.”6CBS News. NCAA, South Carolina State Football, Robert Geathers CTE Concussion Lawsuit
In May 2026, a Dallas County, Texas jury returned a $140 million verdict against the NCAA in a case brought by the family of J.T. Davis, a former Southern Methodist University football player from the 1950s who died with severe CTE. The award included $30 million in compensatory damages and $110 million in punitive damages, with the jury finding the NCAA grossly negligent for failing to warn athletes about the long-term risks of repetitive head trauma.7NBC Sports. NCAA Expresses Disagreement With Recent $140 Million Verdict in CTE Case The NCAA said it would “pursue all legal options in this case, including an appeal.”8Sports Litigation Alert. Jury Hands Another Loss to NCAA in a Concussion Case Both verdicts remain subject to post-trial motions and potential appeals, and neither had been collected as of mid-2026.
Who Runs the Monitoring Program
A court-appointed Medical Science Committee sets the standards for the questionnaire and the evaluations, reviews them annually to reflect current medical knowledge, oversees the regional evaluation sites, and directs how the $5 million research fund is spent. The committee is chaired by retired U.S. District Judge Wayne R. Andersen, with Dr. Brian Hainline, Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Ruben Echemendia, and Dr. Katherine Rankin serving as members.1CollegeAthleteConcussionSettlement.com. Frequently Asked Questions The program runs until November 18, 2069, so eligible athletes have decades of access ahead of them, regardless of when symptoms first appear.