Dave Pear's Blog

EDITOR’S NOTE: Now that some of the dust has settled from the fallout of George Martin’s 2-year tenure as Executive Director of the NFL Alumni, there are a lot of questions still left unanswered. Attorney John Hogan was an active advocate from the earliest stages of what started with the best of intentions. We’re also going ahead with including John Hogan and Dave’s discussion on Disability from the recent IFV Conference held in April in Vegas. The video is at the bottom of this post.

An Open Letter to the NFL and Retired Players Regarding the Alumni

continue reading »

We have recently read the expose of George Martin and the NFL Alumni Association written by A. J. Perez and Alex Marvez for FOX Sports. We have also read the accounts of the Alumni’s press conference from the Super Bowl; and of their Board of Directors’ support for George Martin.
.
I am not a former player and often wonder why and how I got involved in their issues. However, getting to know – and work with – many retired players over the past few years has been a personal and professional highlight of my life and career. I am proud to call many retired players my friends and most of them are a tremendous source of inspiration for me.
.
That said, I have thought that I have had something worthwhile to contribute to the cause of retired players and their families – specifically my expertise in disability law. And it is with those thoughts in mind that I became actively involved in helping the NFL Alumni transition from Caring for Kids to a role as the primary advocate for the needs of retired players, their families and their widows.
.
You will recall that several years ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited several cities to meet with RETIRED PLAYERS ONLY to try to learn what was on their minds. Many of you will recall that Dr. Eleanor Perfetto was not allowed to attend a meeting on behalf of her husband, Ralph Wenzel, who suffers from dementia. You may also recall that I was allowed into the meeting in Dallas – but not allowed to speak. I was very skeptical about what Commissioner Goodell and the NFL were up to.
.
Not long after, I got a call from Bruce Laird, President of Fourth and Goal – one of the first retired player advocacy organizations who were raising money on behalf of – and advocating for – retired players. He told me that Goodell had called him and asked if Fourth and Goal would work with the NFL Alumni to refocus their efforts towards retired players and become one unified and representative advocacy organization. As we envisioned it, we would have one truly representative group that would speak on behalf of retired players’ issues – from intellectual property rights to significant pension improvements and much needed disability reform – with both the League and the Union.
.
It was a tremendous effort on the part of many men to establish the new Alumni Association and hire George Martin as their executive director. Many of us involved in the effort took a lot of heat from all sides. The PA would not have anything to do with this, as they felt (as many others did) that this was a ploy by the NFL to curry favor with retired players as the League and Union moved towards the new CBA. While the men of the PA had little regard for what I had to say about needed disability reforms (which would only have served to help their members), I continued on, hoping that I would have the opportunity to discuss cases, problems, ideas and solutions with the League or various owners. I pressed on, hoping that Bruce Laird, Jeff Nixon and others well-versed in the pension plan, the CBA and all issues facing retired players, would also have the chance to meet face-to-face with the CBA decision makers.
.
It never happened.
.
Fast forward to where we are today – a CBA that did not come close to adequately addressing the needs of retired players. As all of you know, those failings are the subject of a lawsuit pending in Minnesota against the Union. While the League and Union think they have a 10-year period of “labor peace” to look forward to, they will clearly be kept busy by retired players who continue to feel left out, bruised and abused – in light of what they did to make the game what it is today and in light of the almost unimaginable amount of money the NFL is now generating.
.
The Legacy Fund (anyone get their checks yet?) is but a drop in the bucket of what was needed. The League and Union are now scrambling to decide what to do about the disaster of leaving widows out of the picture.
.
Which brings me back to the Alumni Association. What have they done for retired players and their families? Were they a significant role-player in the CBA as we had hoped? Are retired players happy with what they are doing? Has the membership grown or decreased since George Martin was hired? (We hear from a former employee that membership was down significantly but we really don’t know.) I do know that there are a number of NFL cities where there is no longer an Alumni chapter – including here in Atlanta – where there are between 700 and 800 retired players.
.
The Alumni has had three major programs – all highly touted: the Satcher Leadership Institute of Morehouse School of Medicine and their mental health awareness program; their partnership with the Gay Culverhouse Player Outreach Program; and the Long-Term Care Insurance program. All of them great, helpful programs. But they weren’t really the Alumni’s – they were the League’s and the Alumni’s role in them appears to be little more than lip-service.
.
I am sure that Commissioner Goodell and the League expected the Alumni to be self-sustaining by now. At least when we started down this path, that is what those of us at Fourth and Goal had expected. To the best of my knowledge, they are not. They have been the beneficiary of millions of dollars in “interest-free loans” from the League.
.
The point of this letter is that at this point in time, I don’t think it really matters what I think of the Alumni or George Martin’s leadership. I don’t think it really matters what the majority of retired players think about them. And although the Board of Directors is supposed to be in charge, I don’t think it really matters what they think, or how much confidence they have in George Martin and the Alumni’s direction.
.
The only one who really matters is Roger Goodell. Is he willing to continue to invest multiple millions of dollars to try to prop them up on their feet – or is it time to close the checkbook and see if they can stand on their own feet?
.
John Hogan
Disability Attorney
Retired Player Advocate
.
.
.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Several weeks back, the NFLPA put out a request to local chapters for three questions to send along to their big meeting in Washington DC. Disability Attorney John Hogan actually had a few questions to point out in the new CBA. John also has some observations from a recent case that was “approved” by the Disability Board:
.
1. The CBA contains some significant changes in disability – specifically, there will no longer be a requirement to show that your disability is ALL football-related. Why weren’t these changes made retroactive so that guys who are disabled but denied football degenerative might be able to get a better deal?
. continue reading »

EDITOR’S NOTE: We just received an update from disability attorney John Hogan on another of his recent disability applications on behalf of another retired football player. He also included a copy of the Disability Board’s short 3-page boilerplate ruling.
.

Attached is a recent decision I received from the Bell/Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan’s Disability Initial Claims Committee (DICC) finding that a former player was entitled to Inactive Benefits. (It was filed prior to Sept. 1st, so the new CBA rules do not apply and we are seeking Football Degenerative benefits.) continue reading »

EDITOR’S NOTE: Disability Attorney John Hogan is in flight on his way once again to the Second Annual Sports Law Symposium being held at Santa Clara Law campus. This year’s theme will cover Intensifying Sports Law Issues: Concussions, Steroids, Labor Strife and the Use of Player Images. You can visit their Symposium page by clicking HERE. Some of you may recall that DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA, was invited to speak at last year’s Symposium but turned out to be a no-show (for “personal reasons” – you can read that post from last year by clicking HERE). Well, John Hogan and a few other attorneys are also attending this conference with questions in hand on behalf of the retired football players that Mr. Smith is supposed to be representing. Wonder if he’ll have another excuse not to show up again this year? Great example for the current players, DeMaurice: If you don’t like the team you’re playing against, just don’t show up… Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.
.
Meanwhile, John has taken more time to look over the new CBA and has additional observations to report while in mid-flight. It’s interesting that with so many experts and big mouths over at the NFLPA, the silence is absolutely deafening as we continue to miss one deadline after another on providing more clarification and details on key issues that matter to retired players issues. Here are John’s latest findings:
.
=============
.
I’m on the plane just entering California airspace now. It will be interesting to see if De Smith shows up at the Symposium this year.
.
I’ve finally had a chance to read the new CBA disability provisions in greater detail and the best way I can sum them up is that if you haven’t been screwed yet, you might be OK. If you’ve already been screwed, there are no remedial provisions.
.
I do not understand the new neuro-cognitive disability benefit or who they expect it will help. You have to be vested; you CAN’T be on LoD or Total-and-Permanent AND you have to be under 55! I guess it might be available for some guys who are still working but who can work with a cognitive impairment? (Other than as a fiduciary of the Plan and/or sitting on the Retirement Board? And even that was part-time work.)
.
Also, as I have previously indicated, this $30,000 earnings provision will be more of a problem than a help. Do you realize that $30,000 per year equates to a full-time job at $15 per hour? How many guys who have been (or will be) denied disability because they supposedly could do some simple sedentary work would have been able to find an unskilled sedentary job that paid (or pays) that much? Will they continue to reject disability applications out of hand without finding out some information about the work? If a guy is working, but earning less than $30,000 – will they even process his application?
.
John Jogan
Disability Attorney
Retired Football Players Advocate
.
.

.
By John V. Hogan, Esq.

.
The new CBA contains a provision that on its face appears to be of benefit to some retired NFL players receiving Total and Permanent disability benefits under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. Article 61, Section 2 (a) (i) provides that a player will be permitted to receive up to $30,000 per year of earned (i.e. “work”) income without affecting his disability benefits. Presumably this was enacted to allow guys to be paid some appearance fees or earnings from card signings and other events without jeopardizing their “total disability” eligibility.
.

continue reading »

INTRO: Disability Attorney John Hogan managed to make a little time in his crazy schedule to take a short review of the new CBA that was released earlier this week. (Click HERE to read the 318-page agreement.) Keep in mind that these are just some preliminary observations and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more detailed analysis from others in the weeks to come. But John’s notes will hopefully shed some light on a few issues that are relevant to retired players. More to come…
.

John Hogan - Disability Attorney

.
.
I’ve been asked numerous times in the past few days about the new CBA. I have been too busy to properly study it and give as thorough an analysis as I would like. However, having glanced at the disability provisions of the new CBA a couple of times, I do have a few thoughts:
continue reading »

.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday afternoon, NFLPA Disability Board Representative Sam McCullum wrote back to disability attorney John Hogan as part of our heated discussion on retired players’ Disability Benefits and their rights under ERISA law. (Click HERE to go back to that earlier post and be sure to read all the comments that are still coming in on that post.) We’re posting both of their letters here to continue an open review of how disability decisions are currently being made for retired players and how ERISA guidelines are not being applied. This is a must-read for any of you who have applied or plan on applying for your earned Disability Benefits.
.
And before a few of you go off on us again for bringing the ghost of Gene Upshaw back into this fray, this is a direct reference to his original quote from an interview with The Washington Post’s Micheal Leahy in 2008. All too many retired players (even the late Johnny Unitas) lost their benefits because of this long-standing misinterpretation of the law. And that, my friends, is NOT bitterness – it’s reciting History. Those who do not follow or understand History are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again.
.

From Page 26: The Washington Post Magazine February 3, 2008) – Super Bowl Sunday

continue reading »

The Associated Press reports this morning that 20 current and former NFL players headed to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress to help avoid a lockout in 2011 if a new CBA is not reached. (Read that article by Frederick Frommer HERE.) De Smith told reporters that the players would remind Congress about the “gifts” Congress bestows on the league, such as an antitrust exemption for broadcasting contracts. (You can also read the story on ESPN HERE.)

continue reading »

After the Congressional hearing in June, 2007 which focused on health and disability issues of retired NFL Players, the NFL Management Council and the NFLPA jointly announced that one of the improvements to the disability system which they were adopting was the acceptance of a favorable Social Security disability decision as proof that the player was totally and permanently disabled. Shortly thereafter, the NFLPA published a White Paper indicating that this change meant that where SSA found a player disabled, they would not have to be examined by a Plan physician. Commissioner Goodell testified to that fact in the subsequent Senatorial hearing in September, 2007

I am presently representing a retired player who was found to be disabled by Social Security back in 2004 – which was within the 15-year period necessary for a player to establish the higher paying “football degenerative” category of benefits. The Plan has found this player entitled to the lower paying Inactive benefits, and I filed an appeal with the Retirement Board submitting the player’s Social Security file and explaining their decision. Essentially, the player’s past work was at the light exertion level (generally requires the ability to stand and walk at least six hours in an eight hour day) and they found that he was limited to sedentary work because of his orthopedic impairments (knees and back). Because he was over 50 years old and his past work did not provide any transferable skills to sedentary work, he is deemed disabled under their rules.

continue reading »

Our good friend and player advocate, disability attorney John Hogan, was able to attend that Symposium held at the Baltimore School of Law on Thursday. Here are his notes from that day:

Notes from

continue reading »

John Hogan - Disability Attorney

Disability Attorney John Hogan has gone above and beyond in his efforts to help the retired disabled players. John has recently helped several players with their re-applications under this year’s disability plan. (You can read more about John by visiting his website by clicking HERE.) In case anyone doesn’t understand fiduciary responsibility and the legal and moral responsibility it carries with it:

continue reading »

Fourth & Goal Applauds $28.1 Million Retired Player Verdict vs. NFLPA

- Calls for Unity Among Retired and Active NFL Players and Transparency with the League -

continue reading »

…and we can all afford health insurance!

John Hogan - Disability Attorney

Well guys, it’s been fun! But I guess I can go back to playing golf in my spare moments. It looks like retired players don’t need me/us.

continue reading »