This is the 4-page final settlement agreement that was signed by Judge William Alsup in San Francisco on Nov. 23, 2009.
(The crew over at DocStoc have added some great new features: 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. There’s also a Menu button in the upper left corner with even more options.) .
… And here’s the 12-page Summary from Judge Alsup covering Attorneys’ Fees, costs and compensation for the class representative. Everything Bernie Parrish has pointed out is covered in this document …and more. (Ouch!)
After what seems like an eternity, Manett Phelps & Phillips and McKool Smith filed Motions in the Parrish, Adderley, Roberts vs. the NFLPA/Players Inc. class action lawsuit late last week for final review and court approval on August 20, 2009 by Judge Alsup. The documents just became available online so we’ve loaded them up on DocStoc once again for easier viewing and searching. The main part of the Motion outlines the basics of the case and subsequent settlement. The Exhibits outline the payment plan and schedules with the first payment scheduled for July 13, 2009 (they’ll miss that one!) and the second set for June 5, 2010.
It’s always interesting digging into the details: Turns out the settlement will be managed and distributed by Garden City Group which just happens to be right here in Seattle. Half of the funds (around $13 million) were placed into escrow on July 13th, the day this Motion was apparently filed. And then barring no problems, the balance will be placed into escrow on June 5, 2010 for distribution shortly after that. Another interesting detail from Page 7 of Exhibit 1: Players who elected to Opt-Out John Baker, Richard Yelvington, Lynn Chandnois, John Demarie, Dan Goich, Daniel Direnzo, James “Scottie” Graham, Deacon Jones, Steve Largent, Brig Owens, Ben Pucci, Donald Testerman and Andre Collins were all excluded from suit.
(If you need to look at the GLA list of Players in the lawsuit click HERE.)
The proposed Distribution Plan is actually in Exhibit 2 (5 pages long). $1.7 million to cover costs and expenses will be coming off the top of the first half of the settlement to be paid this summer and the law firms will be receiving half of their 30% fee from each of the two payments. The juicy stuff on how and when players will get paid are in the last 2 pages of Exhibit 2. Here’s the key section that most of you will be interested in reading:
If there was ever a story that probably comes close to describing NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith’s journey to his new office, it would have to be the old movie classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (read about it on IMDb HERE). IMDb summarizes it this way: “A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn’t back down.” And if you’ve never seen the movie, this is one classic well worth watching. (Click on the poster to enlarge it for better viewing and printing.)
Much like the movie’s protagonist (played in the 1939 Frank Capra classic by James Stewart), Mr. Smith drops into Washington D.C. only to find himself battling a corrupt cast of characters all around him. A lot of people are still understandably skeptical about his abilities to make the changes necessary to undo 25+ years of corruption. But so far, we’ve seen small, encouraging signs of change in the NFLPA. Those most resistant to change will likely be those with the most to lose in this game. We have no doubt that it was De Smith’s own decision to walk away from the appeal to the Players Inc. lawsuit started by Bernie Parrish. While there’s a long way to go in getting the changes that retired players need in their disability and pension benefits, De Smith has to be given credit for taking this bold initiative.
The beginning of a long journey starts with the first step.
I have stood on the sidelines long enough to see how corrupt the NFLPA is to the players that gave this game the foundation that carries forth so that today the generation of active players can make millions of dollars.
It is hard to believe what the NFLPA has done. In the past and in the future we have just gone through a change in our government and elected a new president. We need to change and separate ourselves from this current group, which is supposed to represent all current and former players in the NFL. They got their rear-ends kicked in front of the US Congress and they got their rear ends kicked in front of the judge. They paid millions of dollars in legal fees. They have made sure that they get re-elected by changing labor laws that retired players have no vote. The association was formed in 1956. We have no vote even though I pay dues and was a player representative all through that new time. Now this group, in my opinion, continues their hatred toward retired players.
The last NFLPA Directory that I have received even though I paid my dues was in 2006. The question I ask: They lost in Congress and they lost in open court and now they continue to pay all these lawyer fees – Why? They have strung it out and continue these legal fees and draw interest on the $28 million instead of paying off the debt.
I am an ex-linebacker and in the Hall of Fame and I do not see any Hall of Famers in the NFLPA.
More than a few of us took offense to departed Gene Upshaw’s dog food comment used in reference to the NFLPA’s marketing efforts for retired players. Even Judge Alsup managed to include them in his final ruling earlier this month (clickHEREto read about it).
I ran across this very insightful piece by Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk that discusses some of the incorrect opinions that are already starting to show up in the mainstream media. Here’s a clip for PFT:
“The problem is that the story creates the erroneous impression that the case is over and that the union has no chance of reversing any portion of the verdict. (As we’ve noted, the award of so-called “compensatory damages” might be in jeopardy because the retired players introduced no evidence of specific lost opportunities arising from the union’s failure to properly market the rights.)
Frankly, it’s hard not to think that someone intentionally fed Bloomberg incomplete or embellished info, given that the current NFLPA leadership is scheduled to conduct a press conference in Tampa later today, at which time there might be a few questions asked about the verdict.”
There’s been a lot of discussion on the need for a first meeting for retired players and several groups and individuals have been trying to get that organized. This won’t be a small feat. Logistics, costs and last but not least – egos – will need to be managed and accommodated.
But in the end, few people will deny that any steps forward will be a step in the right direction. Here’s an e-mail that Bob Grant had sent out in late November asking for players to sign up as well as to send their comments. We’ve also posted a simple form at the end of Bob’s request that’s easy to fill in and submit. Your information will not be sold or distributed to anyone else or used for any other purpose. (If you already filled out the form on this earlier postHERE, there’s no need to submit your information again – thanks!).
Fellow Retired Players -
In November, some of you received an Invitation to participate in a proposed Summit for Retired Players. I have spoken with other Advocates in our Cause over the past months about this idea and all seemed to be on board. In the Invitation that you received you were told that your name would be placed on a Master List of Players who support such a Meeting and formation of a Commission that is actually formed by Players themselves, finally. One man, one vote.” No bosses, no “VIP – Very Important Men” and no one with any hidden agendas.
