A Disgrace of the NFL

[Phil C]

and this applies probably to all pro sports besides pro football. It is a disgrace that they don't take care of their former players. And it is not only up to the owners but also to current players that make those millions of dollars. I'm not saying the former players should be rich but they should have enough to live on comfortably.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AjSbUWU.wPlshfUpaD8LKUw5nYcB?slug=dw-retiredplayers013007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Rabbit'93]

Question...What is the difference between the NFL and any other corporation? Once you retire the company and the employee severe ties. Is it the NFL's fault that the player didn't save for retirement. It won't be my company's fault if I don't. It is very sad and I feel for the former players just as I would feel for any "normal" person in this situation involving a "regular" company.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by Rabbit'93
[B]Question...What is the difference between the NFL and any other corporation?

The very clear answer is that professional sports is very different than corporate america for lots of different reasons. The nature of the work and life span of the players being a major factor.

Much of the blame lies with the players union, but the NFL should be ashamed of how former players are treated.



Once you retire the company and the employee severe ties. Is it the NFL's fault that the player didn't save for retirement. It won't be my company's fault if I don't. It is very sad and I feel for the former players just as I would feel for any "normal" person in this situation involving a "regular" company.

It's not as much about money as it is benefits. Real Sports with Bryant Gumble has done a recent story on this and it will make you really angry. Many of these players are deemed disabled by every standard except the NFL standards. These guys can not do significant work and the NFL will not declare them disabled. You will see the NFL losing more and more of the suits like the Webster suit.

AGain, you really can't compare the NFL to a "regular" company.

[bulldogman06]

your right, you cant, because NFL players make a lot more money. invest, save, and then be happy. i could play one or two years on a million dollars and be set for life by investing and saving and not buyin 3 houses 7 cars 2 girlfriends and a pit bull.

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
your right, you cant, because NFL players make a lot more money. invest, save, and then be happy. i could play one or two years on a million dollars and be set for life by investing and saving and not buyin 3 houses 7 cars 2 girlfriends and a pit bull.

Do you have any idea what types of salaries the guys that played in the 60's and 70's pulled in??? The game was NOTHING like what you have grown up watching. Also, many of those players never received a college education...they were simply told to focus on football, win games, and the rest would "take care of itself." Ditka and Kramer's movement is dealing with the pensions being given to players from the 60's and 70's...before the game started to boom. Those are the players that are hurting.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
your right, you cant, because NFL players make a lot more money. invest, save, and then be happy. i could play one or two years on a million dollars and be set for life by investing and saving and not buyin 3 houses 7 cars 2 girlfriends and a pit bull.

Adidas is right. You equating the players today with those of the that previous era is erroneous.

And keep in mind, the vast majority of the players that play today do not live like your characterization either.

[Rabbit'93]

I'd be willling to bet working at a factory, coal mine, or digging ditches in the 50's and 60's was just as rough as playing in the NFL. I bet the wages were just as low. Although I have sympathy for the players I still view it as a career they chose. This is a very small percentage of the american population that suffer. The only reason it's getting exposure is because football is high profile. What about the millions of elderly that are in the same position? The stories are sad but so are many others.

[charlesrixey]

i agree completely

in the end, the argument that football is tougher is meaningless. Maybe it's because i live below the poverty line with a family of four and my life is full of significantly more sacrifice than any NFL player will ever make. Not to sound pompous, but i have many friends disabled for a much better cause that don't receive close to what the elder generation of football players already gets.

If i went down to the wounded warrior barracks, or talked to my uncle (veteran of korea with shrapnel in his spine and skull, who has walked with a cane for fifty years), i certainly couldn't justify a special compassion for a football player who chose to play a difficult sport who grew up in a less prosperous time.

My heart pains for all senior citizens that need help, but there is no special pedestal for NFL veterans in my book.

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by Rabbit'93
I'd be willling to bet working at a factory, coal mine, or digging ditches in the 50's and 60's was just as rough as playing in the NFL. I bet the wages were just as low. Although I have sympathy for the players I still view it as a career they chose. This is a very small percentage of the american population that suffer. The only reason it's getting exposure is because football is high profile. What about the millions of elderly that are in the same position? The stories are sad but so are many others.

Look at those other industries...and how many of them have grown exponentially and now have more cash than they know what to do with? The NFL has...but the others haven't. That's why there are some saying that more should be done to help these guys out. Their work laid the groundwork for where the game has gone today. Unlike many manual labor workers of similiar times, they weren't/aren't able to work past about 35 years old...and they are left with little to no tangible skills to find a job. Heck...most of them wouldn't even be able to work a manual labor job at the of 40 because of the shape that their bodies were in. Yes...this problem is far greater than just the NFL players...but if some people can be help that's better than nobody receiving help! :(

[charlesrixey]

maybe ditka could raise some money for vietnam war veterans

the VA is great, but by no means is it enough for those heroes

[BILLYFRED0000]

Originally posted by Macarthur
The very clear answer is that professional sports is very different than corporate america for lots of different reasons. The nature of the work and life span of the players being a major factor.

Much of the blame lies with the players union, but the NFL should be ashamed of how former players are treated.

It's not as much about money as it is benefits. Real Sports with Bryant Gumble has done a recent story on this and it will make you really angry. Many of these players are deemed disabled by every standard except the NFL standards. These guys can not do significant work and the NFL will not declare them disabled. You will see the NFL losing more and more of the suits like the Webster suit.

AGain, you really can't compare the NFL to a "regular" company.

I disagree. Everyone who plays the sport knows what they are doing. It is a massively dangerous violent sport. A friend of mine became a paraplegic playing a game he CHOSE to play. The responsibilities belong to the choosers. The NFL did not hold a gun to their head and force them to play. The choices they made
put them where they are. There will be exceptions to this but by and large it is simply true. And the NFL has done more for their retirees than anyone else. If corporate America was this good we would all be a lot happier about our future.

[BILLYFRED0000]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
Do you have any idea what types of salaries the guys that played in the 60's and 70's pulled in??? The game was NOTHING like what you have grown up watching. Also, many of those players never received a college education...they were simply told to focus on football, win games, and the rest would "take care of itself." Ditka and Kramer's movement is dealing with the pensions being given to players from the 60's and 70's...before the game started to boom. Those are the players that are hurting.

That is not true either. The smart ones took care of themselves.
Roger Stauback worked two jobs his entire career. He started his
real estate company when he was a young player and would work on that when practice was over. It all came down to choices. Ignore the future and it will bite you. Plan for the future and it can fool you. Take care of yourself and die in an accident.
Act the fool and live forever. These are all realities and there is no real measurement capable of explaining life away.