Dave Pear's Blog

Over the past 24 hours, we’ve certainly had a lot of discussions around the old adage “Not seeing the forest for the trees.” In the old way of controlling their spin on all stories about football, the NFL managed to keep all of the television networks and most of the major print media on very short leashes because of their broadcast rights and access to players and managers for interviews. And then the Internet came along. Despite claims of a few who proudly proclaim they invented the Internet and Facebook, this new medium has not only moved the retired football players battle to a new and level playing field; it’s in a different league altogether. Just as the past two weeks have completely caught Tiger Woods and his team of old-school PR flacks like deer in the headlights, the NFLPA and the NFL and their old media machines have been hard-pressed to catch up with a new medium that they can no longer control. The Internet doesn’t belong to anyone and it belongs to everyone.

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As so many of you already know, Bernie Parrish was the original plaintiff in the NFLPA/Players Inc. lawsuit – always was and always will be. And we’ll continue to refer to that case as Parrish vs. Players Inc. I guess some people feel that if you keep trying to spin it another way often enough, people will forget – just like the NFL and the NFLPA. But we did notice that even as contentious as it got throughout the trial, both Jeffrey Kessler and Richard Berthelsen were generally professional and respectful enough to refer to the case as Parrish vs. NFLPA/Players Inc. in their filings. But things deteriorated rapidly between Bernie and his hired attorney, Ron Katz. As a result, you will notice the filings that came out of Katz’s office after a certain point were generally filed as Herbert Adderley vs. NFLPA/Players Inc. Some people have been fed a hook, line and sinker to diminish Bernie Parrish and his years of independent work for all retired players.

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On a quick side note for those of you who were on that final GLA Settlement list, we’re going to emphasize here once again: Watch your mail for the paperwork from Garden City Group over the next week. Some of the guys have already reported receiving their information already. If you don’t receive it by the end of December, be sure to call them at (866) 697-5552 and leave them a message. The folks at Garden City Group will get back to you quickly. It’s possible they might have an old or wrong address for you. Then be sure to send the completed form back to them as quickly as you can (it has to be postmarked no later than Feb. 9, 2009 to qualify). Then put it in an envelope and mail it to this address (by USPS Certified Mail with confirmation so you know they got it):

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Getting our hands on the NFLPA’s 2007 LM-2 financial report to the US Dept. of Labor was as close as we can get to a forensic audit of how the Union spent (or misspent) everyone’s money (read that post from last February about 2007′s LM-2 HERE). And once again, it took a while to find it and even longer to download (crashed my browser a few times) and save as a PDF file (crashed a couple of times again!). But now we have all 810 pages of this file and it was around 5 Meg of data. Then we also had to break it up into smaller sections so the special document viewer wouldn’t choke on it. So at last, here it is!

Some interesting things we noticed on first glance:

It was signed by NFLPA President Kevin Mawae and new Executive Director DeMaurice Smith on May 28th, 2009 (like last year). But DeMaurice Smith wasn’t the head honcho in 2008. It was Gene Upshaw until August 2008 and then General Counsel Richard Berthelsen was acting Executive Director until a permanent replacement was put in place this year. Does that make DeMaurice Smith fiscally responsible for what happened last year BEFORE his watch?

You may remember the Jeff Nixon post about Drew Brees and the ensuing comments from retired players about his callous attitude towards them (read that HERE). Guess what? On Page 14 under the section All Officers and Disbursements to Officers, Brees was paid a total of $434,847 as Vice President of the NFLPA (page 14). While we haven’t yet looked into the details of what all that money was for, he was definitely better paid than former President Troy Vincent who only received $24,841 (before he was kicked out by Gene Upshaw for bringing up the idea of a successor) and current President Kevin Mawae, who received a paltry $27,442. Now we understand! Perhaps THAT’S why they call Drew Brees VICE President! All the other Vice Presidents received around $20 – $25,000 apiece last year (?).

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One of the presentations that drew a lot of attention during The Summit was from Bruce Laird of Fourth and Goal. Fourth and Goal has been in ongoing discussions with the NFL to use the NFL Alumni organization as a possible platform for advocacy of disability and pension reform. At the conclusion of The Summit, the group voted to continue moving forward without embracing any single organization at this early stage while encouraging and supporting all organizations that will advance retired players’ issues. (You can look at the evolving Summit blog by clicking HERE and you’ll find Bruce Laird’s presentation under the PowerPoints tab – or click HERE.)

Bernie Parrish has already voiced some of his strong opinions in no uncertain terms (HERE and HERE) and this is definitely going to make it a very hot summer topic. There’s no middle ground or gray area on this one. Do the retired players embrace an existing organization that has been looked on as another business-as-usual club for elite members or will they be embracing an organization that’s been reborn into something that can actually serve the membership at large with complete transparency and representation for each and every one of its members? Only time will tell and everyone’s watching closely.

In the meantime, we’re encouraging everyone to join in an open dialog to make their voices and arguments heard. We hope that everyone will take advantage of the new technology tools available to us today so anyone can voice their opinions. We just received some comments from Jeff Nixon and Tony Davis who were both also at The Summit. So we’re posting them here tonight in hopes of starting a civil discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the Alumni deal. We only ask that each of you keep your comments from getting personal. This will be cross-posted on Dave’s blog and on the new Football Summit blog.

Jeff Nixon

Dear Bernie Parrish:

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We’ve been asked many times over the past few weeks about the status of the Independent Summit for NFL Retired Players. It can now be announced that it will take place in Las Vegas on May 28 – 31. Those involved in helping to organize this effort to get all of us together as an Independent Group of NFL Retired Players include me, Tony Davis, Joe DeLamielleure, Dave Pear, Disability Attorney John Hogan, Jeff Nixon, Ben Lynch, Marvin Cobb, Bob Grant, Abner Haynes and Bruce Laird. There are a lot more NFL Retired Players who have assisted in multiple ways with this effort and too many to mention in this announcement. Many of these men have helped by consulting with us. We communicate almost daily and are working to make sure that this event will provide a new direction for NFL Retired Players. What also must be mentioned is that others have been asked to be a part of the organizational process but have chosen not to participate.

Getting any group of people together is difficult. Dealing with the issues of the NFL Retired Players made it even more difficult but we’ve been able to work through many issues and personal feelings to come to a consensus on how to assist this movement. We’ve had our differences in getting here but have chosen to listen to all involved so that any decisions we make are well-informed, educated and thought out. We agree that no advocate group will be uninvited. Every man who put on the NFL or AFL uniform is welcome. Any and all NFL Groups, including the Alliance and Gridiron Greats are invited. And – last but not least – every wife or caregiver of any NFL Retired Player is an honored invitee.

This group of men who have organized this Summit have done this because the NFL and the NFLPA Retired Players organizations have consistently made it clear that assisting the NFL Retired Players is not their priority. They have explained in no uncertain terms to NFL Retired Players that we do not have a vote. There’s already been a great deal of work done on behalf of the NFL Retired Players, to continue to lobby a variety of different entities that can affect the changes for a new Pension and new Disability Plan.

We chose to do this because we felt, along with thousands of you, that we need a Voice in these matters and the Union that is supposed to represent us, gives us no voice. We chose Las Vegas because of the incredible Hotel rates offered to us and Las Vegas – as a domestic travel destination – may now be the cheapest in the country during these tough economic times. Before the Summit, we hope to announce some significant changes that will positively affect NFL Retired Players. We look forward to overwhelming participation from all of you. In the meantime we appreciate your letters of support and ask you to help. Spread the word, get involved – these are issues that affect your families and through collective efforts we think we can make a difference.

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Some people think they have to join in the conversation even when they have no idea what they’re talking about. (Or maybe we can chalk it up to reporters looking to stir things up on a slow day.) In today’s press coverage leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the Saints’ Drew Brees was quoted in USA Today as saying, “There’s some guys out there that have made bad business decisions,” he said.” They took their pensions early because they never went out and got a job. They’ve had a couple divorces and they’re making payments to this place and that place. And that’s why they don’t have money. And they’re coming to us to basically say, ‘Please make up for my bad judgment.’” Read the rest of the piece in USA Today by clicking HERE.

In fact, here’s an interesting question to ponder: What would probably happen if Drew Brees got permanently disabled and had to go in front of the NFLPA Disability Board for a disability benefits review? Would his agent, Tom Condon – who also happens to sit on the Board (!) – still be on his side? Or would he find a way to disqualify him like most everyone else who’s come up in front of the Review Board? Just remember one thing: The people you step on going up the ladder of success may end up being the very people you need help from on the way back down.

It sure didn’t take long for a lot of retired players to jump on this one. Jeff Nixon sent in the best response to Brees’ idiotic comments (of course, HE’S going to be watching the Super Bowl and not playing in it) and we’ll be adding in comments that have come in pretty quickly since Jeff sent this to us in an e-mail earlier today:

Dear Alumni:

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Bob Grant ventured out to Commissioner Goodell’s Players meeting last Wednesday in Newport Beach, California. Among other things that happened at this meeting was the fact that spouses were quietly allowed to attend and speak. Here’s Bob’s report:

Dear Fellas and Supporters,

Brent sent you his report on Roger’s meeting with some 100 retired players and family reps. I am going to try and cut to the chase and give you a brief but accurate snapshot of the evening from my perspective.

I was initially contacted and told that I would not be allowed to attend the meeting but then someone lost their mind, I guess, and got in touch saying that I would be welcomed as long as I wasn’t going to burn the building down or do anything crazy.

All of you know that Bernie’s platform is where my base is. Some agree on some of the planks there and others do not accept any of them. I don’t particularly care whether or not anyone is comfortable with my position. But on to the meeting:

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CNBC’s Darren Rovell just posted a list of the Top 10 Retired Football Players payments based on public numbers available from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. (Read the article by clicking HERE)

It’s pieces like this that keep fans misinformed about how poorly the older retired players have been treated and paid. Most of the retired players are sick and tired of fans and bloggers and their comments that declare their lack of sympathy for the plight of the disabled retired players who are crying all the way to the bank. NOT!!! Maybe they should have also listed the Bottom 10. Or more dramatic news would be pointing out the thousands who received absolutely nothing in 2007 and wouldn’t even make it on the list at all. (Keep in mind that we’re not knocking what the top players have received in any way – they earned it. But there’s always been plenty to go around and including the rest of the players is the real issue here.)

So we finally managed to get our very own copy of the NFLPA’s Form 2007 LM-2, filed in March 2008. The LM-2 is an annual financial disclosure document that the Dept. of Labor requires labor organizations to turn in annually. It’s supposed to be publicly available like all the other annual filings by hundreds of unions across the country. (Finding it was another story – it was so buried, it was next-to-impossible to find and download, unlike the majority of other LM-2′s. We had a little help from friends.) And this is where Darren Rovell from CNBC pulled his Top 10 list from. While this document doesn’t come close to what a full audit might uncover, its 800+ pages provide an interesting glimpse into where the NFLPA spends – and doesn’t spend – its money. We’ll be spending some time over the next week going through this gem and posting some of our own findings here. (This thing is massive at 8 Mb in size as a PDF so we’re trying to figure out the best way to make this more easily available for EVERYONE to read.)

In searching the LM-2, players like Bernie Parrish, Herb Adderley, Walt Roberts, Dave Pear, Jeff Nixon and Tony Davis obviously don’t even show up on the list as recipients of licensing and royalty payments (nothing new – that’s why the GLA lawsuit had to be filed in the first place). However, another more conspicuous Davis did pop up when we did a search for the name DAVIS: Miki Yaras-Davis, your friendly, neighborhood NFLPA Director of Benefits. Ms. Yaras-Davis pulled down a cool $267,152 ($240,057 BEFORE expenses, to be fair…) in 2007 (and she was scheduled to receive a raise in 2008). And Holy Cow! She makes more than Staff Accountant, Michael Zides ($56,896) and the Staff Legal Counsel, Arthur McAfee (he only made a paltry $200,988). Nice work if you can get it. (Click on the clip from the LM-2 to enlarge it for easier reading.) continue reading »

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Jeff Nixon remembered to bring his camera along to the trial in San Francisco and managed to get a few pictures outside of the courtroom during deliberations. Even before the verdict came in, everyone seems relaxed and happy to be there. Has anyone got any pictures of NFLPA Acting Executive Director Richard Berthelson or their attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, smiling?

Clifton McNeil and Jeff Nixon

Dave, Jeff Nixon & Walter Beach

Dave, Herb Adderley, Bart Starr, Jeff Nixon & Ron Katz

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Right on, Jeff!

Mary-ann Fleming
Manager, Player Benefits
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017

November 12, 2008
Dear Mrs. Fleming:

Thank you for meeting with our Buffalo Bills Retired Player’s Chapter on November 12, 2008 and discussing player benefits with our group.

In the meeting you stated that the owners Management Council actively participates in negotiating the pension benefits for retired players through the collective bargaining process. I told you that it was my understanding that the owners are not involved in any significant way when it comes to negotiating retired player benefits and that it is the active players that make the critical decision regarding the amount of money that goes to improving retired player pensions. Apparently there is some disagreement and confusion about this issue that also arose during Commissioner Goodell’s meeting with retired players in Chicago on November 8, 2008.

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Fellas,

A number of months ago I told you all that Gene had actually stated to a group of his gangsters the following: ” We don’t have to worry about dividing those assholes because they have divided themselves.” Let’s not let him be proven right.

I also stated to all of you some months back that I was a “Bernie Parrish Man” all the way. That has not changed. Upshaw, the NFLPA and the NFL feared – and fears – Bernie more than it does any man alive. That’s a fact. The NFL even offered to negotiate directly with the retired players if someone could get Bernie to “go away.” Ha ha ha. Fat chance of that ever happening. No one can dispute the commitment that Bernie, Herb and Walt had before any of the rest of us even dreamed that we could really take these Gangsters…

We could not have asked for a better Senior Statesman than my good friend Herb Adderley up in San Francisco. His class, polish and elegance had to be seen to be believed. I went up to San Francisco to show my support on both the Opening and Closing Arguments. Clifton McNeil kick their asses royally as the first witness to take the stand. I heard the NFLPA lawyers get up and lie through their teeth. I heard them say that they had not stolen our money and that even if they did, they had the right and authority to do it. Clifton was articulate and sharp in eating their lawyer alive. They could not wait to get him off of the stand and would probably have paid for a cab to take him to the airport if they were asked to.

Now that it has been established that those Gangsters lied, cheated, stole and conspired with lawyers and outside groups against us, the entire world sees who Upshaw and all the rest of them really were and are.

Now I hope we can make Gene a liar by not dividing ourselves. I know that together we can go after these bandits for the Pension Plan that Bernie has advocated for a long time (one like Major League Baseball). I’m sure that Abner Haynes brings leadership skills and wisdom that those crooks will never have. I hope that we can work toward establishing the Plan that Brent Boyd suggested many months back, that we can embrace the presentation that Jon Hogan has prepared, that we can build on the work that Bruce Laird has done for those of us who are in worst need, and that we can support the positions of Tony Davis and Jeff Nixon. I hope that we can follow Dave Pear’s example of intelligent, never-give-up fighting, and present ourselves as well as Herb did up in San Francisco. If we can do those things, we can whip these guys and reclaim our rightful place in the NFLPA. It was great seeing Hall Of Famer Bart Starr there supporting us. It would be nice have others like Terry Bradshaw, Michael Irvin and Harry Carson (away from that Alliance) join us.

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Jeff Nixon was originally scheduled to be interviewed in September on NPR as part of a story on the trial just as it was starting. But with Gene Upshaw’s timely departure from the scene, the trial was postponed until Monday, Oct. 20, 2008.

We’ve been informed that the interview is now scheduled for NPR’s Morning Edition which runs on local public radio stations nationwide. To listen to this news piece on NPR’s website, click HERE and hit LISTEN NOW.

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Like many of us, Jeff Nixon’s been following the class action lawsuit between players (mostly retired) against the NFLPA an its, subsidiary, Players, Inc. The trial starts October 20th in San Francisco.

John Madden Introduced by His Favorite Sandwich

A LITTLE BACKGROUND: Among the people in the middle of this case is, of course, John Madden. Liked and disliked equally within NFL circles, Madden leveraged his successes as a coach with Al Davis’ Oakland Raiders, he went on to be a regular on NBC Sunday Night Football for a long second career. In 1988, he signed a contract with Electronic Arts to put his name on the wildly successful video game, Madden NFL. The game has generated incredible revenues and profits and is now at the center of the class-action lawsuit involving claims of fraud, misrepresentation and just plain-old thievery.

The majority of retired players have filed suit to recover royalties and damages as a result of what appears to be a consistent pattern of ensuring that EA paid as few of the players their due as possible (leaving more for those who WERE getting paid). Mounting evidence convinced a judge to allow the trial to move forward this past September 12th but the trial was postponed until the October 20th date as a result of Gene Upshaw’s quick disappearance from the scene in August. There’s no doubt that the NFLPA has already spent a small fortune in their attempts to prevent this case from going to trial and becoming public. We think this trial may be a watershed moment and valuable in supporting the long-standing claims of how the majority of retired players have been systematically robbed on virtually every front that involved any money. And it looks like anyone who’s been riding on this runaway bus – maybe it’s the Madden Cruiser – is complicit in the scheme. If you’re not part of solution, then maybe you’re part of the problem. While he may or may not have known everything that went on with the lopsided licensing deals, most of the players feel that Madden probably had some idea of why he was making so much money. (HINT: Not his good looks!)

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Jeff Nixon

Today on his blog, NFL Retired Players United, Jeff Nixon posts some publicly released information about some damning evidence that was instrumental in allowing the upcoming class action lawsuit against the NFLPA and its licensing subsidiary, Players, Inc. (click HERE to read the rest of Jeff’s post). Part of the key evidence that will be officially presented at trial in San Francisco on October 20, 2008, will be letters from the NFLPA and Players Inc. management to Electronic Arts (publishers of the wildly successful video game Madden NFL). The correspondence appears to show a long-standing conspiracy to defraud the majority of retired players by directing game developers to “disguise” the identities of retired stars in a blatant effort to avoid paying them any royalties. But like we keep saying, it’s often not the crime but the coverup that nails you. It looks like NFLPA may have been cooking the books as well in order to keep everything covered up. Small wonder Upshaw & Co. spent so much in legal fees trying to make sure the trial didn’t move forward.

Perhaps someone should immediately get a court order in place to lock in the assets of all those involved – including Gene Upshaw’s estate – before we find even more money has vanished offshore.

There just isn’t a whole lot more we can say here to make anyone LOOK bad – they’ve done a really good job of it themselves. We just can’t wait to see what else comes out of the trial.

EDITOR’S NOTE Dec. 20, 2009

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A lot of people are still barely aware of the lawsuit filed against the NFLPA and its subsidiary, Players Inc. Players Inc. has been the licensing arm of the NFLPA, allegedly set up to “represent” NFL players, past, present and future (Gee – does that sound familiar?) in the licensing of their images and the promotion of their respective teams. Any of you fans who have bought NFL merchandise – from jerseys and gear all the way down to your basic bubble gum cards – will already know that it’s all big business. You can’t produce anything with a team’s logo or a player’s likeness without the absolute consent of Players Inc. – along with a healthy licensing royalty – unless you want to see the inside of a courtroom under intense fire from their corporate attorneys!

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The New York Times’ Alan Schwarz covered the initial filing in February, 2007 (read the entire article by clicking HERE). Here’s a little detail on the scale of their licensing revenues:

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Recently sent to the NFL Alumni from Jeff Nixon:

Dear Alumni:

The Miami Dolphins used the 1st pick in the NFL draft to sign Jake Long to a $57 Million Dollar Contract.

Jake Long is represented by player agent Tom Condon. If Tom Condon gets the 3% standard player agent fee, he could be raking in $1,710,000.00 over the life of the contract. It could be more or less depending on the agreement.

Jake Long already has $30 Million of that money guarenteed before he sets one foot on the field.

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