Bob Clasby: Still Waiting After All These Years
Dave,
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You were kind enough recently to send me contact information for the NFLPA and NFL for a severance pay question. I contacted both through e-mail and sent the following question:
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I would like some information regarding severance pay that I may or may not be due from the Arizona Cardinals. If you can provide me with some insight before I contact the club that would be a great help.
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I played from 1986 through 1990 for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals and was credited with five years of service. I retired in the summer of 1991 and received severance pay of $30,000 in 1992. I was told at the time that the years 1989 and 1990 would not count towards my severance pay because there was no CBA at the time for those years. If the 1982 CBA was in place, it is my understanding that I would have received $80,000 in severance. My question is whether I was paid the right amount of severance or do I have a claim for the years 1989 and 1990 and, if so, how much would that be?
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Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.
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I received the following response from Luke Patton of the NFLPA:
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Bob,
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According to our records, the $30,000 you received was the correct amount. You have five Credited Seasons in the league, from 1986-1990. According to the 1982 CBA, you would have received $30,000 for years 1986-1988. However, you would not receive a payment for 1989 or 1990 as the 1993 CBA states that a player must have at least one Credited Season in 1993 or later years to receive Severance credit for years 1989-1992. For confirmation of this information, please contact Mary-Ann Fleming of the NFL at (212) 450-2000.
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Regards,
Luke Patton
NFLPA Benefits Dept.
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This is just another fine example of how the NFLPA under Gene Upshaw threw the retired players under the bus in the 1993 CBA. Any player who retired between 1990 and 1992 was not credited for all the seasons they earned when it came to severance because, after all, they were retired at that point and who cares? Any player who hung on until 1993 and beyond did get credit for those years, which makes absolutely no sense unless you’re Gene Upshaw. I wonder if a class action lawsuit on this issue would be viable?
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To follow up on another issue, I was one of the players listed as being owed money in the Plan B Sub Fund of the Reggie White Case. I submitted my information to Dee Becker of the NFLPA in early February and have not heard back from anyone. Dee Becker originally told me that it would be resolved sometime in March but in a recent contact, she said the information was sent to the “lawyers and bankers” and she has no idea when it will be resolved. After all, it’s only been since 1993. What’s the hurry?
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Thanks for your support and keep up the fight!
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Bob Clasby
St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals
1986 – 1990
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April 14th, 2010 at 5:05 PM #
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Dave Pear
April 14th, 2010 at 7:07 PM #
Dear Bob,
The NFL continues fabricating trouble against the retired players.
They have been proven to be skillful in their underhanded and evil schemes.
However, this may prove to be another class action lawsuit.
Question? Was it a violation of ERISA law or just plain criminal when Gene Upshaw and Harold Henderson sign a side deal (in the back room) that eliminated retroactive pay for players who finally began to receive (what the NFL calls) disability benefits in the spring of 2008?
On another note, disability benefits are NOT taxable but what the NFL calls disability benefit is actually a retirement benefit or pension and they send out a 1099-R which is TAXABLE.
The NFL has NO disability benefits!
It seems nothing in the NFL is on the up and up. It is ALL one big lie! Or one myth leads to another.
Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
Derek Kennard
April 15th, 2010 at 9:00 AM #
I have the same situation Bob Clasby has. I don’t believe I was paid the right amount. I was accredited for ’93, ’94, ’94, ’96 seasons but was only paid $30,000 for my Severance!
Derek Kennard, MBA
Counselor
Kids at Hope
St. Louis Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys
1987, 1992, 1994 – 1995