> What’s the end game for American football when, inherently, everyone ends up with brain damage? Everyone doesn't end up with brain damage. Most NFL players

> What’s the end game for American football when, inherently, everyone ends up with brain damage? Everyone doesn't end up with brain damage. Most NFL players only play for a few seasons. The average career is only three seasons; the median is even lower. An exceptionally small number of players are going to suffer brain damage in two or three seasons. Today's NFL players are paid far beyond extraordinarily well, they don't need the money. The bulk of the claims are coming from players in the past that were not paid so well and do need the money. Guys that used to play for $100,000 /yr across a ten year career, and played at a time when the NFL was far more violent and head protection was even worse. A player that lasts 10-15 years in the NFL today will typically earn $100 million or more. They'll have a lot of money and some will have lasting brain damage. A very small fraction of those players will ever consider suing the NFL. > I assume the NFL will end up bankrupt from civil claims? That's an incorrect assumption. The legal cost will barely be a drop in the bucket of the NFL's financial machinery. Someone else mentioned the $500m concussion fund was burned through sooner than expected. $50m-$100m per year is an easy problem for the NFL these days. The commissioner gets paid $40 million per year. League revenue was $16 billion in 2019. One team, the Dallas Cowboys, alone has $280 million in operating income. If you cycle out ten more years, the NFL could afford $500 million every single year in liability costs related to head injuries, and it would still be fine (and that number isn't going to happen).