League to hire medical officer

The NFL will hire a full-time chief medical officer to work with team medical staffs, the players’ union and league committees, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday.

Pellman was not a member of any league medical committee, but much of the early criticism of the NFL regarding its handling of concussions was directed at Pellman, who once famously downplayed links between head trauma and football.

A search will begin this week and will be conducted by a panel of health and medical experts led by Dr. Betsy Nabel, the league’s chief health and medical adviser.

The NFL has been heavily criticized in its handling of head trauma over the decades — it reached a settlement that will pay about $1 billion over 65 years to more than 20,000 retired players.

Former Carolina Panthers defensive back Haruki Nakamura, who received what the NFL deemed a career-ending concussion, has sued Lloyd’s of London for denying a $1 million insurance policy.

The NFL declared Nakamura fully and permanently disabled after the August 2013 concussion he received in a preseason game, awarding him monthly benefits.