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Not only have we obtained monetary recoveries for our sports law clients, but we have also created change.
The sports industry generates billions of dollars every year. Yet the athletes whose work fuels the industry and the consumers who buy tickets and sports-related products don’t always have their rights protected. Zimmerman Reed represents—and protects—college and professional athletes as well as ticketholders and other sports consumers. We advocate for our clients using our collective knowledge, experience, and resources in a variety of cases, including copyright and trademark, publicity issues, contract negotiations, and personal injury.
Our commitment to our clients has led to groundbreaking successes in this area of law. Not only have we obtained monetary recoveries for our clients, but we have also created change. We represented retired NFL players in a historic settlement to resolve retired football players’ publicity rights claims. In a separate case against the NFL, Zimmerman Reed represented hundreds of NFL players in concussion litigation, which resulted in a settlement that exceeded $1 billion to support retired players affected by concussive head injuries. The settlement also provides for medical exams and ongoing neurological care for former players, as well as for medical research.
Our work has won judicial praise, including commendation for our publicity rights settlement as:
“truly one-of-a-kind, and a remarkable victory for the class as a whole,” and “a boon to those thousands upon thousands of former NFL players who can now reap the collective benefit of a large financial payout to a fund organized solely for their benefit.”
If you have questions about a current case or potential case, contact us.
Retired NFL Players’ Concussion Lawsuits
Zimmerman Reed represents hundreds of individual retired NFL players and worked with counsel across the country on an uncapped settlement that has already paid out more than $1 billion on behalf of more than 4,500 former NFL players. This settlement addressed—and continues to address—concussion-related lawsuits and funded compensation for concussion related brain diseases, medical testing and examinations, and medical research.
Retired NHL Players’ Concussion Lawsuits
Successfully represented former NHL players who alleged the National Hockey League was negligent in dealing with concussions and head injuries causing players to suffer serious brain injuries, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Retired NFL Players’ Publicity Lawsuit
Zimmerman Reed represented retired NFL players who were challenging the NFL’s use of their images for profit and refusing to allow the retired players to benefit from the value they brought. A historic settlement was achieved to resolve the players’ class action. The settlement creates a licensing agency that would, for the first time, market the group rights of retired players and help retired players establish commercial opportunities. The federal judge in that case, Judge Paul Magnuson, called the settlement, “truly one-of-a-kind, and a remarkable victory for the class as a whole,” and “a boon to those thousands upon thousands of former NFL players who can now reap the collective benefit of a large financial payout to a fund organized solely for their benefit.”
