The NFL and its players union are bickering again, this time over benefits for the league’s retired players. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a letter posted on the league’s labor Web site Saturday that the NFL is committed to its former players, and that no new collective bargaining agreement will be made without improving things for them. “I have said publicly that there will be no agreement without improvements for retired players,†Goodell wrote. “On the contrary, when the union last week informed us that it was willing to make a new deal under certain conditions, there was no mention by them of increased benefits for retirees. The union leadership was willing to make a deal without any improvements for retired players. The union to this point in our discussions has not agreed to that proposal,†The NFLPA executive committee, holding its annual meetings in Hawaii, responded by releasing a statement on its site, saying that “truth becomes a casualty†when it reads Goodell’s letter because its plan is being labeled disingenuous. “Neither the NFL nor its NFL Alumni have decided to get into the real game to improve retiree pensions and give players more than five years of health care when they retire, if they are lucky enough to play four years,†the statement said. “When will the NFL start paying the former players who built this game for the legacy it sells?†Source: Associated Press
Even the lowest paid player in 1994 got 108,000 for his troubles, it's not like the former players are poor. Are we going to pull former players out of nursing homes and sell tales of woe?
Exactly...so because these guys would rather blow their money instead of being smart with it they should give even more benefits to retirees? Hmmm...maybe they should graduate college? Have a back up plan?
How about any post-sports plan? Not everyone can get a job at ESPN afterward, even if it seems that way.
