Do no harm: Who should bear the costs of retired NFL players’ medical bills?

This is a workers' comp issue, and the team and its workers' comp insurer should be responsible for treatment of any injury caused by the job. To the poster who asked who pays the longshoreman who gets hit by a crate, the answer is his employer, no questions asked. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and some people try to take advantage of the system, but by and large, if you get hurt on the job, and that's the issue here, your employer is responsible.