EricVega/iStockBy PETE MADDEN, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The federal judge overseeing the NFL’s concussion settlement program is sending the league and the class counsel representing former players back to the negotiating table “to seek to address the concerns relating to the race-norming issue” that critics say has skewed compensation for football-related head injuries along racial lines.

In a pair of orders issued Monday, Judge Anita Brody of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, dismissed a lawsuit against the NFL filed by former players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport as “an improper attack on the Settlement Agreement” but wrote that “the Court, however, remains concerned” about the race-based formula used to measure cognitive impairment and determine eligibility for compensation.

Brody referred the NFL and class counsel Seeger Weiss – the original parties that drafted the agreement – to appear before Magistrate Judge David Strawbridge to reach a new agreement on the issue.

This story is developing, please check back in for updates.

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