How ‘race-norming’ was built into the NFL concussion settlement

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CHANDLER, Ariz. — At first glance, Rick Cunningham looks almost as formidable at 54 as he did during his playing days.

As the 6-foot-7, 270-pound former offensive tackle led a visitor into his home recently, the only visible sign that eight seasons in the National Football League inflicted any lasting damage was Cunningham’s deliberate gait, caused by chronic pain in knees surgically repaired nine times and hips that need replacing.

Then Cunningham tried to speak. Thoughts form in his head, he explained, but he has trouble finding the words. He stammered often, sometimes relying on his wife, Debbie, to translate. At one point, he gestured toward a pool table and explained — in a belabored, meandering way — that he couldn’t remember what to call the wooden pole resting across it.

“It’s a pool cue, hon,” Debbie said as she gently held his arm.

When the settlement in the landmark NFL class-action concussion litigation was finalized in 2017, and the league agreed to pay sums as high as $5...