We just received another note from retired player and attorney Bob Stein with more clarification on the Legacy Fund Benefits. Many of you will already be familiar with Bob as one of the lead attorneys for the Dryer vs. NFL (Films) lawsuit. Dave also received a memo from Joe Browne out of the NFL offices that contains an interesting note about your Legacy Fund benefits as well as a proposal for widows that has apparently been on the table awaiting an answer from… yes – you guessed it: Your Union. Please call or write your Union to let them know they need to get off their collective butts and DO THE RIGHT THING! Pay the widows NOW! . We’ll start off with Bob Stein’s notes: . May 8, 2012 . To: Fellow Retired NFL Players From: Bob Stein RE: Legacy Benefit .
Men, . I spoke to the NFL Player Benefits (“Plan”) office yesterday and got what I think is some clarity on two more issues regarding the Legacy Benefit which have many retired players confused. I am passing the conversation notees along in hopes of helping. . Bob Stein . LEGACY BENEFIT INFORMATION . While I cannot provide legal advice on this matter, I would like to pass along the information I received by telephone on May 7, 2012 from the NFL Player Benefits Office for other retired players waiting for Legacy Benefit payments or wondering about their status. . 1. Players currently receiving NFL Disability payments – I was told these players would receive only THE GREATER OF: . a) the amount of monthly disability payment they currently receive; OR . b) the total of monthly pension payment they would now qualify for based on years of service, etc. plus the monthly Legacy Benefit they would qualify for under the 2011 CBA. . They made it clear you only receive whichever monthly amount is greater. So players whose current disability payment is greater than the total of (b) would receive NO additional payment from the Legacy Benefit in the new CBA. . 2. Players who assigned all or part of their pension benefits to an ex-spouse in their divorce: . I was told each of these situations would be reviewed individually by Plan attorneys and actuaries to see what payment rights that individual player’s divorce decree language assigned to his ex-spouse. Since the language on what divorce obligations are continuing can be different for every decree, based on what was agreed to or awarded by the court, the Plan advisors must go through them individually to see what should go to each ex-spouse and each player. . I hope this information helps clarify some remaining Legacy Benefit issues. The number of the NFL Player Benefits Office is (800) 638-3186. . And some of what was relayed to retirees from the NFL Offices today: .
Dear Retired Player: . The following items may interest you: . 1. Attached is a four-page summary of the recent record-based study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of all retirees who played in the NFL for at least five seasons from 1959 through 1988. We previewed this study in the most recent NFL RETIRED PLAYER NEWS that was emailed to you on April 24. NIOSH also sent via regular mail a copy of this same information to the 3,439 players whose records were used for the study. . 2. More than 250 retirees who had been waiting to hear from the Pension Benefit office in Baltimore regarding their Legacy payments were mailed information on their individual cases in recent weeks. One of the last group of retirees to receive information will be those players who have QDROs and also receive Disability Benefits. Also, the 320 widows and other beneficiaries of vested pre-93 players who died prior to the 2011 CBA being signed still are awaiting word from the NFLPA regarding those Legacy benefits. The league is on record as stating it will pay 51% of the costs for the widows benefit if the NFLPA pays the balance. . 3. The NFL Alumni Association announced over this past weekend at a Board meeting in Arizona the resignation of Executive Director George Martin, who had served in that post since October, 2009. Ex-Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik, who serves as the non-salaried President of the Alumni Association, also will act as interim Executive Director until a full time successor is named. . Incidentally, the Association’s annual Super Bowl of Golf, which matches winning teams from all local Alumni chapters, was held in conjunction with the Board meeting and was won by a team led by ex-Bears quarterback Jim McMahon. Congratulations. . 4. All of us in the NFL family mourn the death of NFL great Junior Seau last week. There will be a private memorial service and burial this Friday, May 11 in Oceanside, California followed by a public memorial that same night at QualComm Stadium, the home of the Chargers and site for many of Junior’s on-the field heroics. . Joe Browne . Senior Advisor to the Commissionercontinue reading »
EDITOR’S NOTE: We just received this update from Bob Stein on the Legacy Fund Benefits. This will be one of the discussion issues at our upcoming Conference April 20 – 22 in Las Vegas. Be sure to register HERE and book your rooms and flight. . I continue to hear from retired player friends wondering about ongoing delays in Legacy Benefit payments or information from the NFL Player Retirement Plan. Last week, I finally reached an AON actuary working on the Legacy Benefit. While I can’t guarantee the absolute accuracy of the information I received, I wanted to pass it on in hopes it will be helpful. . Here’s what I was told: . 1. Though basic agreement and public announcement occurred with the CBA conclusion in August, 2011, the Plan Document, with precise terms and details, is still not complete. Amendments are being finalized and the complete Plan Document is to be finished by the March 31 end of the current Plan year. The “Summary Plan Description” is not required to be published until 7 months later, though he said they would try to have it out sooner. . So I did not get what I requested which was a copy of the basic rules governing our Legacy Benefit payments. . 2. Regarding increased monthly benefits for those electing to defer payment, I was told even if we are now over age 55, our basic benefit calculation ($124/year for seasons through 1974, $108 per year thereafter) does not increase unless we now choose to defer payments due us from August, 2011 on. Meaning there is no added benefit from being over 55. If we defer payment NOW, we will receive a “small percentage increase for each year delayed.” However, by law we must begin taking payments once we reach age 65. . To make it more confusing, I was told the percentage increases for deferring Legacy Benefit payments will be different than the percentage increase factor for deferred pension payments. He did not know if increases would be more or less than for deferred pension payments. . 3. Timing of Plan Response . I was told most responses went out before the Super Bowl, including to players electing a survivor benefit. However, some “special cases” like those involving divorces have not yet been addressed. . 4. Questions/Problems .I was told the best source for information is the Player Retirement Plan office. Their phone numbers are: (800) 638-3186 or (410) 685-5069. Or you can mail them at: NFL Player Retirement Plan, 200 Saint Paul St, Ste. 2420, Baltimore, MD 21202-2008. . Some ex-teammates have been waiting weeks or more for response from the Plan office. Apparently, all we can do is keep calling and writing. It’s been very frustrating. But I hope this information helps a little. . Bob Stein Kansas City Chiefs, LA Rams, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers 1969 – 1976 . .
OK – so here we go again. We posted Dan Pastorini’s story about wanting to opt out of the NFL Alumni’s Group Licensing Agreement (click HERE to read that earlier post). On their membership page online, the GLA was automatically attached as a part of the membership process with no option to opt-out of the agreement in order to join the Alumni. Dan pointed that out to the rest of us. And that’s when the knives came out. .
Look, we don’t care who said what and exactly what the details may have been between Dan Pastorini and George Martin. And quite frankly, like most people, WHO REALLY CARES?!! But then two Alumni members, David Carter, President of the Houston Chapter, and Rod Smith, Carolinas Chapter President – both members on the Alumni Board of Directors apparently – decided to give a detailed He-Said-He-Said version of what transpired between Pastorini and Martin. And then Jeff Nixon decided to jump in on the Alumni blog and make it personal with Dave and me. Again. We only hope they’re paying you well over at the Alumni now, Jeff… . Here’s the real issue and this is what we’re absolutely 110% in agreement with Dan Pastorini: Attaching a completely unrelated and unsolicited Licensing Agreement to what’s supposed to be nothing more than a simple membership enrollment is just plain wrong! In fact, it’s downright sneaky, unethical and it actually violates consumer law! . Jeff Nixon decided to call Dan Thursday and Dan shared that conversation with us on Friday: . “Jeff Nixon told me that George had admitted ‘He may have made a mistake’ in tying the GLA to their membership enrollment.” . “If I almost missed it when I was signing up, then I wonder how many other players had already missed that GLA footnote? And that was my point! It was all a matter of principle.” Dan said. “As a matter of fact, if George is finally coming out and admitting that it was a mistake in adding the contract and they’re now planning on removing that hook, what about all the guys who have already inadvertently signed their GLA? I think the Alumni needs to invalidate all those copies of the GLA that they’ve acquired through their membership forms and then offer their GLA to its members separately. It’s not me I’m concerned about now. It’s any of the other guys who have already been locked into this GLA without their full knowledge or consent.”
January 11, 2012 . To: Fellow Retired NFL Players From: Bob Stein RE: Legacy Benefit .
Men, .
As there have been many questions and some conflicting information flying around on this subject affecting vested players retired before 1993, I would like to provide the latest information I have received. This is not legal advice and I cannot guarantee its accuracy but it is what I was told and intended only to help keep you informed. In recent calls to the NFLPA (800-372-2000) and NFL Retirement Plan (410-685-5069) offices, I was told by both: .
a) We must each complete and return the letter dated December 8, 2011 (I got mine December 26) from the Plan to begin the process. That letter asked for personal info and asked us to provide information for possible beneficiaries of the Benefit if we were interested in examining that option. If you didn’t get one, you should call the Plan office. .
b) Once the Plan office receives the completed December 8 letter back from us, they will send us an election form, which is to spell out the effect on our benefits and show what beneficiaries would receive if we indicated interest in a beneficiary option. Even if we don’t choose a beneficiary option, we must return the election form to confirm that decision, what taxes we want withheld, etc. I was told the election forms should be sent to us about 2 weeks after we return the December 8 letter, but also that they were being processed “as quickly as the actuaries can do the calculations for beneficiaries and they can be processed.” I sent my Dec. 8 letter back on Dec. 27 and have not yet received my election form. .
c) When the Plan office receives our election form back, they will send our first Legacy check, but they could not tell me if the first check would include the promised retroactive payments back to August or how long it would take to receive it. They did say that once our monthly Legacy Benefit payments begin, they will arrive in a separate check sent together with our monthly pension checks. .
d) It got more confusing when they told me we can make different decisions on when to start pension benefits and Legacy benefits, BUT we cannot begin to receive Legacy benefits until we receive pension benefits. So apparently, if we already receive pension checks, we can take Legacy benefits now or delay them. But if we have deferred our pension benefits, we must also defer Legacy benefits at least until we start receiving our pension payments. Also, we can make different elections for each benefit regarding taking lifetime-only payments or naming a beneficiary and receiving lower payments during our lives. .
I hope this helps. .
As Hausfeld LLP and associated law firms have brought lawsuits challenging the right of the NFLPA to negotiate Legacy Benefits or anything else on behalf of retired players, they have suggested retired players include the following statement with our December 8 letter response, or if we have already returned the December 8 letter, to write to the NFL Player Retirement Plan adding it as an addendum. Their point is to avoid a possible NFLPA claim that following the process to receive the Legacy Benefit means we have accepted the NFLPA representing us in negotiating it. You should consult your own attorney with any question related to this language. I sent it as a follow-up addendum to my Dec. 8 response: . “By providing the personal information requested by the League with respect to the “Legacy Benefit” contained in the 2011 CBA, I am in no way waiving my right to challenge the level of that benefit or any other provisions of the 2011 CBA that affect my interests as a retired NFL player nor am I agreeing that the NFLPA had any authority to negotiate on my behalf the “Legacy Benefit” or any other provisions of the 2011 CBA that affect my interests as a retired NFL player.” .
Happy New Year, good luck and good health to all in 2012. . Bob Stein
Kansas City Chiefs, LA Rams
1969 – 1975 . . .
Here’s a yearend update from Hausfeld LLP and Zelle Hofmann including articles from disability attorney John Hogan and George Visger. . We’ve uploaded their newsletter to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close): . The Voice – NFL Retiree Newsletter, Vol 1, Issue 2 .
As many of you know by now, Fred Dryer is one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Films. Many of the retired players have been wanting to know more details on how that lawsuit has been progressing. So earlier today, we had a conversation with Fred and a few of the other players involved in that litigation to hear more of what has been happening so far. . “The plaintiffs in Dryer vs NFL fired Bucky Zimmerman and Zimmerman Reed for cause. . “We felt that he lied to us and we had lost our trust with him and his firm. . “We were fortunate to have retained Bob Stein and Tom Ward and it allowed them to bring Michael Hausfeld and Zelle Hoffman Voelbel & Mason on board in a timely and professional fashion.” . . . continue reading »
In case some of you missed it last year, there was a lawsuit filed on behalf of all retired football players to recover royalties from the NFL and NFL Films for re-packaging and distributing footage of games from years past. The suit was initiated by attorney and former player Bob Stein (1969 – 1975 Kansas City Chiefs, LA Rams, Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers) and filed in August 2009 and it was originally led by plaintiffs Fred Dryer, Jim Marshall, Elvin Bethea, Joe Senser, Dan Pastorini and Ed White. .
Since then, the case has gone through some changes that we’ve learned about through the many public filings available in the court system. We’ve noticed that Zimmerman & Reed is no longer representing this class (all of the plantiffs have apparently fired them) and we have also learned that Hausfeld LLP and Zelle Hoffman (both firms from the ongoing Eller Class action) have now added their weight and resources to keep moving this lawsuit forward with Bob Stein. . continue reading »
Over the weekend, the retired players and the attorneys involved with the Eller et al vs. NFL et al class action lawsuit released a letter addressed to all retirees to outline a call for unity as well as to provide an update on the facts and actions to date. .
Dear fellow retired players, .
We have been asked by many of our fellow retired National Football League (“NFL”) players to provide more information about what the Eller v. NFL lawsuit is meant to accomplish and how the lawsuit will help benefit all retired NFL players. What follows is our attempt to do so. .
On March 28, 2011 the national law firms of Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP and Hausfeld, LLP, filed a class action on behalf of all retired NFL players against the NFL in federal court in the District of Minnesota to bring about wholesale improvements of the NFL player retirement system. .
This lawsuit came after the CBA negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA broke down, the Union decertified and the League subsequently locked the players out. The complaint seeks to do for retired players what the Reggie White class action lawsuit did for current players in the early 1990’s: create an organization and system whereby retired NFL players are able to advocate on their own behalf and therefore vastly improve the current landscape of the NFL retirement system. This class action – known as Eller et al., v. NFL – was consolidated with the class action on behalf of current players called Brady, et al vs. NFL. (Consolidated simply means that the cases are heard together and the NFL is better positioned to try and resolve both cases simultaneously – although the retired players are asking for and addressing different issues than the current players.) .
Recently, the largest collective group of representatives of various organizations for retired players or who have mass online audience met in Minneapolis. The group included representatives and/or members from the NFLPA, NFL Alumni, the Retired Players Association, Fourth & Goal, Gridiron Greats, Dignity after Football and DavePear.com/Independent Football Veterans. Most of the participants agreed to present the League with united proposals for changes in key areas affecting the well-being of retired players:
The largest collective group of representatives for retired NFL players ever assembled met yesterday in Minneapolis, Minnesota and agreed to unanimously support the class action litigation brought by retired NFL players against the League and its member clubs. That lawsuit is now pending before Judge Susan Nelson in federal court in Minneapolis. .
Among those present were: .continue reading »
Bob Stein is a two-time All-American and Super Bowl champion. Stein at age 21 was the YOUNGEST player to ever play in a Super Bowl. Stein graduated in the top 10% of the University of Missouri – Kansas City Law School, having attended while playing full time for the Chiefs. Stein was the first president and CEO of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, a position he held until 1995. He was a long-time sports agent before becoming President of the Timberwolves, and is a licensed attorney. Additionally, he was appointed to the Minnesota Boxing Commission in December 2007 by Governor Tim Pawlenty. .
Bob is currently an attorney practicing in Minneapolis MN and involved with his long-time friend and associate, Bucky Zimmerman, in the NFL Films class action lawsuit on behalf of retired NFL football players – Dryer v. NFL – and will be providing an update with his associate in the lawsuit, Bucky Zimmerman. . Bucky Zimmerman, one of two founding partners of Zimmerman Reed, is a nationally recognized leader in complex and class action litigation. He frequently speaks at industry conferences as well as CLE’s. During more than 30 years of practice, Bucky has successfully represented hundreds of thousands of clients through individual actions and nation-wide class actions in significant and demanding cases involving the tobacco industry, defective drug cases, and shareholder suits. He currently serves as Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel in Baycol, Guidant, Medtronic, and Zicam MDLs. .
Bucky and Bob discuss their current class action lawsuit on behalf of retired players vs NFL Films (Dryer vs NFL Films). Bucky also gives a pragmatic overview on winning vs. losing as well as some practical advice on how lawsuits really work. . (Our videos are hosted on Vimeo in HD and you can watch them full screen by clicking on the Expand button in the lower right corner of the video window.) .
All of the presentations from our Conference were streamed live on Ustream and also recorded for editing. We’re currently working on editing all of the videos and enhancing the sound quality. (HINT: Headphones might help!) However, many of you have already been asking about viewing the videos so we decided to upload them in their rough versions so those of you who couldn’t attend the Conference in person can watch them. As soon as Jennifer and her team finish the editing, we’ll get the improved versions online immediately. (The videos do take some time to load up so please be patient while each frame loads up. You can also view them in Full Screen mode by clicking on the button in the lower right corner of each video frame.)
Hall-of-Famer Ron Mix attended and spoke at our first Annual Independent Football Veterans Conference last week, held at the South Point Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. We received Ron’s overview and editorial letter this morning and we’re posting it in its entirety below. Thanks, Ron! .
You can view and read more of the entire event by going to the site by clicking HERE. (We will be updating the site constantly all week long as we finalize sound enhancements on all our videos as well as add more commentary and PowerPoints from our speakers.) And if you would like to help advance our cause by being a founding donor, please feel free to go to our Donation page by clicking HERE. . continue reading »
This just came in over the wire regarding the new class action lawsuit with the NFL and NFL Films. The courts in Minnesota have upheld the suit and is allowing it to proceed. Here’s the press release along with a copy of the Order Denying the NFL’s Motion to stop the lawsuit posted on Scribd for easier access and viewing. (Click on the FULL SCREEN button to enlarge it for easier navigation – hit the ESC key to close. You can also click the DOWNLOAD button to save a PDF copy for printing and reading. )
Chalk up another one for the old guys! Retired players are so sick and tired of getting ripped off every time they turn around. We recently came across an article that Electronic Arts was partnering with The Weather Channel to pay them for weather statistics to make Madden Football X more “realistic” – but they DON’T want to pay the retired football players themselves for their stats in order to make the game more “realistic”. I wonder when they’re planning on screwing around with the weather so they won’t have to pay for that either. Read all about the weather by clicking HERE.
So when you use the retired players’ likenesses right down to their race, size and stats, is that realistic enough for you, EA? But you don’t want to pay for that and you want to pay for the weather? Recently, EA announced that they were no longer going to be using retired players in their video games. Ha!
May 8, 2012
I continue to hear from retired player friends wondering about ongoing delays in Legacy Benefit payments or information from the NFL Player Retirement Plan. Last week, I finally reached an AON actuary working on the Legacy Benefit. While I can’t guarantee the absolute accuracy of the information I received, I wanted to pass it on in hopes it will be helpful.
OK – so here we go again. We posted Dan Pastorini’s story about wanting to opt out of the NFL Alumni’s Group Licensing Agreement (
Bob Stein
As many of you know by now, Fred Dryer is one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Films. Many of the retired players have been wanting to know more details on how that lawsuit has been progressing. So earlier today, we had a conversation with Fred and a few of the other players involved in that litigation to hear more of what has been happening so far.
“We were fortunate to have retained Bob Stein and Tom Ward and it allowed them to bring Michael Hausfeld and Zelle Hoffman Voelbel & Mason on board in a timely and professional fashion.”
In case some of you missed it last year, there was a lawsuit filed on behalf of all retired football players to recover royalties 
Over the weekend, the retired players and the attorneys involved with the Eller et al vs. NFL et al class action lawsuit released a letter addressed to all retirees to outline a call for unity as well as to provide an update on the facts and actions to date.
Bucky Zimmerman, one of two founding partners of Zimmerman Reed, is a nationally recognized leader in complex and class action litigation. He frequently speaks at industry conferences as well as CLE’s. During more than 30 years of practice, Bucky has successfully represented hundreds of thousands of clients through individual actions and nation-wide class actions in significant and demanding cases involving the tobacco industry, defective drug cases, and shareholder suits. He currently serves as Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel in Baycol, Guidant, Medtronic, and Zicam MDLs.