The first two claims in the NFL's billion-dollar concussion settlement were announced Thursday, a total of $9 million in benefits.
The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania overseeing the process was notified Thursday through a joint status report filed by the class and the NFL that the claims were approved.
The payouts were for $5 million for a qualifying diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and $4 million for a qualifying diagnosis of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). The names of the former players were not disclosed as part of the filings.
Those amounts mean that both individuals played a minimum of five NFL seasons and were diagnosed before their 45th birthdays.