Comments on: National Football League vs. Players’ Union

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:21:12 +0000

I find this article to be right on the money. I was raised in the inner city and played sports. Through great coaching and the chance to go to a private school on scholarship, I had even better coaching. The bottom line is that I ended up playing 8 years in the AFL/NFL. I am 64 now with many health issues. I can not get LTC insurance nor health insurance. I recently was awarded SSA Disability insurance. I have the proof from well know MD’s that my health issues are football related but have no recourse since the NFL Pension group said I didn’t meet their criteria.

I am well educated and did very well post football; however at $34000 per year retiring at 28, the money went to college expenses and a business. My health bills ate up my income when I could not work anymore due to health issues.

Why do the owners turn their back on former players and pay rookies millions. Go figure. We are not drunks or despots or irresponsible. We are players who left it all on the field and are now abandoned in our senior years by greedy owners and management. I don’t want big $, I wanted a chance to get health insurance and LTC help. The owners have the capacity to provide this type of health cooperative.

Thanks for the time.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:55:02 +0000

Just a tidbit, one reason the average NFL career is shorter. Veterans get paid more than rookies, and the longer they play the more their salary escalates. As an acquaintance of a long time NFL quarterback , and a casual friend of an NFL hall of famer, I’ve gathered that coaches make decisions on players, especially 2nd and 3rd stringers, by salary. So, your the coach, and your GM is telling you what the payroll # is, its your job to get to or under that number. The easiest way is by releasing the older practice player, and keep the younger less expensive player. Happens at the end of every training camp, older backup players are released in favor of younger, less experienced and cheaper replacements. Baseball, basketball, and most hockey players have guaranteed contracts, which takes that option away. And by default longer playing careers. Lets just watch the season, and let the players and owners worry about the contract.
Bob
PS. In 1987 my Vikings made the playoffs, but by the skin of their teeth. My recollection is, the replacement players had 1 win and 2 losses, and we had a shortened season. They were eventually defeated by Washington in the NFC championship game.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:10:06 +0000

Well, most NFL athletes have nothing to fall back on. Their education usually is meager. Who is at fault. I say society. I have had a career ending injury after 28 years in my league(Blue Collar). I educated myself well. Had I had just 3.5 seasons as an ongoing rookie @ $400,000 a year, My life would would be palpable. It is all about risk. I came from a poor family and worked my way to better things. Whether your worth is 5 years or 35 years, the business of ANY industry is to MAKE MONEY. The unfortunate deal is that each ‘individual’ will need to treat their own human bodies as a tool for business. Should I have done so, I would be much better off, and still in the “Game”.

By: RobertinSeattle

RobertinSeattle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:45:24 +0000

Your piece is one of the best encapsulations of the way things are today based on the long and contentious history between the NFL and the NFLPA. Some of the retired players are trying to be pragmatically optimistic about DeMaurice Smith even as the NFL continues to advance their old divide-and-conquer tactics that served them so well in the past when Upshaw ran the Union.

There’s no doubt that there’s change in the air but most retired players are just beginning to look at it with guarded optimism, just as most on the inside who are holdovers from the Upshaw regime are very skeptical (or more). Some of the old guard are changing their tunes publicly while others seem to uncommonly silent. Hopefully, we will see the pace of changes pick up in the second half of this year as Smith begins to establish his own power base and sorts out friends from enemies. Ah – to be a fly on the wall inside the PA’s offices!

P.S. – Watch for Berthelsen to likely be gone after September (mandatory retirement age was supposed to be set at 65 and Berthelsen’s is in September – so it’ll be a good excuse to put out the old “Spend more time with family” press release), with outside counsel Kessler not too far behind. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, fellas!