Texas jury awards $140m against NCAA in CTE lawsuit filed by family of former SMU player

A Texas jury on Friday awarded $140 million in damages against the NCAA in a lawsuit filed by the family of former Southern Methodist University (SMU) football player J.T. Davis.

The verdict includes $30 million in compensatory damages and $110 million in punitive damages. The lawsuit alleged the NCAA was negligent in its approach to head injuries during Davis’ playing career in the 1950s. Davis later died with Alzheimer’s disease and was found to have severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

In a statement, the NCAA said it “respectfully disagree[s] with the jury’s verdict,” arguing that much of the evidence presented relied on today’s scientific understanding rather than what was known in the 1950s. The organization said it plans to pursue “all legal options,” including an appeal, and pointed to its current player-safety efforts and support for independent concussion research.

The punitive damages portion of the verdict could also face review on appeal. The $110 million punitive award is far above what the source report described as Texas’ statutory cap of $750,000, raising questions about whether the full amount can ultimately be enforced under state law.