The judge overseeing the National Football League's $1 billion concussion settlement has appointed an expert to look into the reasonableness of attorney fees in the case.

U.S. District Judge Anita Brody of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday appointed Harvard Law School professor William Rubenstein to provide an expert opinion on whether the court should cap the percentage of recovery any class member would be required to pay his attorney. Brody's order also asked Rubenstein to consider how high or low the cap should be, weigh the reasonableness of requiring class members to pay 5 percent of their recoveries to the common benefit fund, and how to avoid any question of “double-dipping.”

Earlier this year, class counsel asked Brody to set aside $112.5 million for attorney fees and costs stemming from the $1 billion settlement intended to compensate about 20,000 former players suffering from concussion-related injuries. The NFL has agreed to pay the money in addition to the money for the class members.