NFLPA Convention: Active and Retired Players Need Answers
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL Players Association will be hosting its annual convention in Maui, Hawaii for both current and former players. About 150 former players will be attending the event, but another 18,000 will be sitting at home - like me - wishing we had the time and money to bask in the tropical sun and enjoy the camaraderie of former players - discussing issues that are important to all of us.
By the time most former players get to the convention the active players will have already elected their Executive Director. The election is scheduled for March 15th, one day after each candidate will make their case to the 32 player reps who will ultimately vote.
Click on this link and check out an excellent article by Patrick Hruby regarding the people running against DeMaurice Smith and their concerns with the lack of openness and accountability at the NFLPA. In the article, Hruby mentions Sean Morey’s six-page letter that was sent to NFLPA president and Cincinnati Bengals lineman Eric Winston requesting an extensive list of documents and answers to questions. In an email response, Winston rejected Morey's request, telling him that the information already available to the candidates was "enough."
I’m sure Winston checked with DeMaurice Smith before he gave his response. And why would he do that? Well, consider this......
DeMaurice Smith is not only the Executive Director of the NFLPA, he is also the Chairman of the Board for NFL Players Inc. - the money making arm of the Association.
According to the Players Inc. website, they are looking to “Establish better business relationships and interact with NFL players at proprietary events. Identify and integrate the best players for their product lines and marketing campaigns and streamline player activation by facilitating endorsement deals and appearance logistics."
This is the business entity that in many cases will decide which players (both current and former) get paid for attending meet and greets at events, golf tournaments, autograph sessions and for marketing a company’s product.
If a player did anything that was perceived to be against DeMaurice Smith’s wishes, it’s not hard to believe that they could find themselves blackballed from money making opportunities. All of the top people that work at NFL Players Inc. were hired by Smith, so I find it hard to believe that they would go against his wishes if he put a bug in their ear about a particular player who was not toeing the party line. What better way to control someone than through the potential threat of taking away their ability to generate income? If you think I'm being paranoid or unfair, just ask Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure how he's been treated by Players Inc.
Joe was an outspoken critic of Gene Upshaw and he hasn't said too many nice things about DeMaurice Smith either - and it shows in the amount of money he has made through Players Inc. compared to other comparable players on the money making list. I'm sure the NFLPA will just say it all comes down to a players "marketability." Nonetheless, the potential for abusing this power over the purse of active and former players exists and the active players should put an end to it by adopting a resolution that disallows the NFLPA Executive Director from having any influence, affiliation or connection with NFL Players Inc.
No matter who wins the election, the biggest question for most retired players will remain the same - How can we increase benefits for former players?
That’s not an easy question to answer. As former players we must always remember that the Executive Director of the NFLPA works for the active players. They can hire him and they can fire him, so his number one priority will always be to bring home the bacon for active players.
DeMaurice Smith has touted that players will earn a combined $640 million more this coming season than they did just two years ago because of growing salary-cap numbers and other benefit increases.
To put that in perspective, The $640 million is more money in one year for 1,700 active players than the $620 million in Legacy Benefit money that was allocated over a 10 year period to 4,700 retired players.
DeMaurice Smith has boasted about the Legacy Benefit even though a majority of former players felt the increase was not nearly enough, especially in light of the huge increases in active player pensions and all the other retirement type benefits (ie. Annuity Plan and Second Career Savings Plan) that have been added to active player benefits.
Under the current CBA, active player pensions will go up every three years until they reach $760 per credited season in 2018. In comparison, most former players vested in the retirement plan - from the beginning of the NFL all the way up to 1992 - receive approximately $360 per credited season (that includes the Legacy Benefit)
Back in 2010, when the last CBA was being negotiated, I was writing and blogging for Fourth and Goal Unites. On March 12, 2010 - almost 5 years to the day, I helped Bruce Laird draft a letter to the NFLPA Executive Committee and player reps that showed them why we were asking for increases in our pension plan and other benefits. Here’s a link to that article: Bruce Laird's Open Letter to the NFLPA Executive Committee and Player Reps
I think the letter is almost as relevant today as it was then.
I hope the former players that attend this year’s convention will continue to advocate for increases in our pension plan and other benefits and remind the active players and their elected representatives that even more needs to be done to help the older generation of players – the players that helped build the foundations of pro football.
