Former players: Devil is in the details with NFL concussion settlement

"The guys who need it now won, but the rest of us have lost the ability to take the bully behind the shed," Former NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said.

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"Because in the end, settling it for however much money is a whole lot better for the league than giving up everything they have as far as information and potentially harming the shield for good. There's too much potential for information that could have done damage to the NFL, and it's better to just pay it off with $765 million, plus court costs.''

"Any time you can get care to the ex-players who are really needing it, that's a phenomenal thing,'' said Wilson, who did not join the lawsuit and said he didn't even know any former teammates who had. "I really do think it's a good day for the NFL, because any time there's litigation out there and you get it resolved, it's a plus. Hopefully now we can start to put it behind us and move on to football and the games.''