NFL Players Face Long Odds in Painkiller Case Despite Appeal Win

NFL Hall of Famer Richard Dent and other retired players saw the Ninth Circuit revive their painkiller suit against the league this month, but they have a long way to go to prove their case.

Sports attorneys tracking the litigation say the Aug. 7 victory for the players only places them back in the litigation’s early stages. The appeals court ordered Judge William Alsup in San Francisco to once again rule on whether players’ labor union contracts bar the case from going forward.

Alsup has twice before dismissed the players’ suit, once because of the Labor Management Relations Act. This ...