Faneca played guard for the Steelers from 1997 through 2007 then the New York Jets for two years and finally the Arizona Cardinals for one before retiring in 2010. Joining Faneca are Roderick Cartwright, Sean Considine, Ben Hamilton, Sean Morey, Jeff Rohrer and Robert Royal. The settlement was rejected by U.S. District Judge Anita Brody almost four months ago after the NFL touted the fairness of the agreement.
More: NFL and retired players submit concussion settlement terms / Judge flags NFL’s concussion settlement
Their motion claims the proposed settlement would only compensate a small subset of the brain related injuries while excluding all others. This group of seven players is demanding that any proposed settlement also include the symptoms they (collectively) are suffering from, including peripheral nerve dysfunction, cervical spinal disorders and memory deficits.
Faneca et. al also object to a provision in the settlement plan that would award money to CTE victims only of the player dies before the settlement's preliminary approval, and a provision that would bar concussion-related claims against the NCAA by any player compensated in the settlement.
Faneca, who was not one of the thousands of players whose various claims were rolled into a class action suit against the NFL and the manufacturers of the league-approved helmets, played twelve years despite suffering from epilepsy which was diagnosed when he was fifteen years old.