ERISA Code - Dave Pear's Blog

New CBA May Contain “Trojan Horse” for Disabled Players

31 August 2011

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By John V. Hogan, Esq.

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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.
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| Posted by John Hogan | Categories: brain, CBA, Concussions, Dave Pear, dementia, disability, ERISA, football, John Hogan, NFL, NFLPA, Pension, RobertinSeattle, Social Security Disability, TBI | Tagged: Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan, brain injuries, Concussions, Dave Pear, Dementia, DICC, disability, Disability Attorney, Disability Benefits, Do No Evil, ERISA, ERISA Code, football, Groom Law Group, Jimmie Giles, John Hogan, NFL, NFLPA, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, pension, Players Inc., RobertinSeattle, Sam McCullum, Social Security Administration, T&P Benefits, trojan horse |

John Hogan: ERISA 101

6 August 2011

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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.
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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.
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