Ex-Chicago Bears Lineman Gets NFL Disability Plan Appeal Tossed

The National Football League’s disability benefits plan was too quick to appeal decisions favoring a former defensive lineman from the Chicago Bears 1985 Super Bowl-winning team, the Eleventh Circuit held, dismissing the appeals for lack of jurisdiction.

The 2020 decision ordering the plan to reevaluate Tyrone Keys’ claim for disability benefits wasn’t a final, appealable order because it didn’t resolve the question of Keys’ entitlement to benefits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Tuesday. The same is true of the order awarding Keys $105,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the court ...