Tallahassee, FL-- The fight against the NFL with concussion related symptoms added a new member.

"Football is a brutal sport," says Corey Fuller, former NFL defensive back. "It is very brutal, it is very violent."

So violent that the average career for an NFL football player is 3.3 years.

"A series of concussions cost me my career and nearly took my life," adds Merril Hoge, former NFL running back.

Many are cut short because of hits like this, causing concussions that can have lingering effects for the rest of a players life.

"I probably sleep four to five hours a night, I'm talking about real sleep," adds Fuller.

Corey Fuller spent ten seasons in the NFL. He now suffers from short term memory loss. Fuller is one of now more than two thousand former NFL players that have filled lawsuits against their former employer, claiming that the league failed to properly inform players on concussion-related injuries.

"Your brain rattles, you blink your eyes after you have a hard hit. You have some form of a concussion."

Fuller says even with injuries, players are reluctant to inform the training staff, in fear of losing their job.

"We're an investment to the team, they protect us the best they can, but at the end of the day, when it's over, don't no NFL teams call you and say how you doing?" Fuller adds. "I played for three different organizations, I have relationships with them, but I'm always initiating the phone calls, because it's a business. When you know that as player, you have to handful everything as a business. So when you see players filing lawsuits, it's a business."