WASHINGTON — Lance Armstrong just avoided a trial that could have ended with his financial ruin. He reached a settlement of $5 million, the amount his lawyers offered the federal government almost five years ago to make amends for Armstrong’s use of performance-enhancing drugs while he was sponsored by the United States Postal Service.
All things considered, the settlement was a piddling sum. Armstrong’s cycling team received $32.3 million in its final contract with the Postal Service, and the government could have demanded three times that amount from him.
He should be satisfied, content even.