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Retired Players In An Unhealthy Position
Authored by Jeff Risdon - 15th June, 2007 - 10:56 am
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The plight of retired NFL players and their myriad of health and financial problems are getting a lot of attention these days. It’s become somewhat of a cause celebre’ for Hall of Famers Mike Ditka and Joe DeLamielleure in advance of the upcoming NFL Players Association (NFLPA) meetings, and has sparked a virulent war of words with Union President (and fellow HOFer) Gene Upshaw. While it’s hard to ignore the dire straits and debilitating health problems of so many retired players, there is more than meets the eye.
First, the basics of the NFL pension for retired NFLPA members. Each player gets $250 per month per year of NFL service. That is based on a 5-year career; guys who played longer get a little more, and those who played less get slightly less. They also get comprehensive health coverage for 5 years following retirement. In addition, the NFLPA allows former players to petition for additional help based on need. According to NFLPA figures, they dispensed $2.35 million over the last two years to nearly 250 players considered in “emergency need”. Every year the NFLPA is allotted 60% of total league revenue under the terms of the latest collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Some of the former players appear in extreme distress. One prominent example used by Ditka & Co. is Brian Demarco, a former offensive lineman who retired in 2000. His case carries special meaning for me, as I have known and competed against Demarco since we were in 3rd grade. He was one of those naturally gifted athletes, a coordinated giant and a pretty bright guy. To see him unable to walk without a cane and unable to pay his medical bills and claiming homelessness, it’s a real bitter shock. But while I’m sympathetic, the players have to look in the mirror and shoulder a good part of the blame.
One of the points Ditka keeps hammering is that the NFLPA needs to take care of these guys. But those retired NFLPA members had a chance every year they played to take care of themselves. Every year these guys are invited to retirement planning workshops, financial seminars, and offered great insurance plans that would help meet their needs. A very small percentage of players ever take advantage. Most players are loathe to sacrifice one iota of their paychecks to look forward to their own future or to help out former teammates. They talk a good game, but when push comes to shove the union members never take anything from their own pockets to help guys who came before them. The shortsightedness is unbelievable and it’s also chronic.
The agents bear some of the blame here. Players hire agents to handle their financial arrangements, negotiate contracts, manage their assets and their future. But almost without exception the agents do almost nothing for the players except extract as much money as possible from teams in the present, in order to earn their beau coup commission. Once a player retires, he’ll be lucky to have his former agent return his calls unless he was a real cash cow. Brian Demarco defined the term “average player”; his agent had no use for him once the commission check was earned. So like most every other non-superstar player, the one guy who was in position to alleviate any future financial issues does nothing.
There are a whole host of solutions being bantered about to help these retirees. My ideas:
A graduated tax on rookie contracts. The rookies are earning based entirely on potential, so who better to take money from and give to the guys who actually earned their paychecks. I propose a 2% tax on 1st rounders, 1.5% on 2nd rounders, graduating down to a .25% on 7th rounders and undrafted free agents. This tax comes out before the agent gets his cut and is exempt from counting towards the salary cap, and it is based on the total value of the contract, not just guaranteed money. Consider that the average 1st round draft pick signs a contract for $17.4 million and there are 32 of them every year, that’s a lot of cash.
In the next CBA, the NFLPA gives back .5% of their revenue and the teams devote that money to a discretionary fund devoted to helping out former players. In addition, the league agrees to extend the health benefit from 5 to 10 years.
Every season each team plays one home game and one road game wearing retro jerseys. All profits from sales of retro jerseys and memorabilia, including postgame auctions of jerseys right off the players’ backs, heads into the discretionary fund.
To help curb more extensive physical damage, the handling of injuries must be overhauled. The injured reserve is no longer season-ending but put into week increments much like baseball. This keeps teams from sending out injured players before they are ready because they lack replacement roster space. Injured reserve would be 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Also, team doctors no longer have the final say when a player is ready for action. That role now goes to an independent medical arbitration panel comprised of three non-affiliated specialists, ideally former team doctors, paid for by both the NFL and the NFLPA.
Agents are forced to give back .25% of all commissions and devote that money to the discretionary fund. This fund is managed in part by the agents, so that they may give special consideration for their own former clients. The discretionary fund is also managed by appointees from the NFLPA, the NFL league office, and the medical arbitration panel, who can more accurately ascertain true medical need.
