NFL agrees to end race-based brain testing in $1bn settlement

• NFL will end race-based adjustments in dementia testing
• Practice came to light in civil rights lawsuit filed in 2019

The NFL agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1bn settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court.

The revised testing plan follows public outrage over the use of race-norming", a practice that came to light only after two former NFL players filed a civil rights lawsuit over it in 2019. The adjustments, critics say, may have prevented hundreds of Black players suffering from dementia to win awards that average $500,000 or more.