A very quiet news announcement hit the wires this past week that could have major repercussions for active players in upcoming contract negotiations. First, here’s the headline and a clip from the original release on Reuters:

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NFL in discussions about using chip-in-ball technology

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Tue Aug 3, 2010
By Patrick Johnston

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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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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 post HERE, 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.

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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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Here we are coming in to a New Year and looking behind us at how much has happened in the past year. We’ve seen a recent flurry of comments and e-mails among a lot of the retired players discussing the current state of affairs within the NFLPA, not the least of which has been the disability benefits and the ongoing selection process for a new Executive Director. And the Commissioner keeps on rolling from city-to-city attempting to put on his dog-and-pony show about his compassionate concern for the disabled players. Wow! It’s been quite a year.

Roger Goodell's dog-and-pony show - what's that pile in the background?

With the search for a new Executive Director to replace the missing Gene Upshaw now narrowing down to 9 (!) candidates, it’s shaping up to look like more of the same: same management, same attitudes, same approach to everything. And why not? With the entire Upshaw-picked organization continuing to run the show and working with acting-Director Berthelsen to direct the entire selection process for the new Director, why would anyone expect change? Everyone has been wondering about the details. Like why this new Executive Director isn’t selected for a one-time 2-year term and charged with overseeing a massive review and overhaul of the entire organization? And why isn’t the entire membership – current and retired – given an opportunity to vote for this new Executive Director? And will this new Director also hold the position as head of the Players Union? Which – by the way – has also never held an open and free election either (what other union in the world does business that way?)?

Perhaps it’s due time for all the retired players to simply pick up all their marbles and form their own union if they’re not being properly represented. And that would mean they should be able to take all their money with them (what’s left of it anyway, after the current crew has finished helping themselves to your money). Perhaps then – and only then – might the retired players finally have a say in how their pensions are set up, their benefits defined and distributed, as well as how they’ll be represented fairly.

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More keeps coming out on the touchy-feely meetings that Commissioner Goodell has been conducting with the “Alliance” in league cities across the country. The first meeting held in Dallas ended with Disability Attorney being invited – and then uninvited – by John Wooten (read about that HERE) and as revealed in a series of interesting e-mails that followed the meeting (read about that HERE). Then a dull second meeting in Chicago and a more interesting one last week in Baltimore. The spouses of several players with dementia confronted the Commissioner outside of the meeting room about being denied a voice in the process. And then the New York Times backed it up with the revelation that it was the Alliance who decided to close the meetings to everyone except retired players (read about that HERE and HERE).

Behind the scenes, there’s been a flurry of e-mails and phone calls between the retired players and some members of the “Alliance,” discussing and rationalizing the secret decision to keep the meetings closed. And lots and lots of backpedaling and finger-pointing. We’ve got one interesting exchange that came from Alliance member John Wooten trying once again to explain his way out of another ridiculous situation. Tony Davis’ response is first and Wooten’s e-mail follows at the end. Tony is expressing an opinion that the majority of retired players all seem to share. So why weren’t the other players even consulted before the Big Brother Alliance decided for them?

From: Tony Davis
To: John Wooten; Bruce Laird; Dave Pear
Cc: Mike Connelly; Jack Kemp; Merlin Olsen; Jerry Kramer; Daryl Johnston; Harry Carson

To members of the NFL/NFLPA Alliance,

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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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Dave,

Please feel free to post this letter that was sent to all the NFLPA Retired Players Chapter Presidents prior to their meetings this weekend. You might also remind the body of NFL Retired Players to call their Chapter Presidents and let them know we want the issues discussed.

Tony Davis

Fellow NFL Retiree’s,

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Like John, I also want to thank Tim Brown for helping to open up this dialog so everyone can discuss their opinions and ideas after the recent passing of Gene Upshaw. Hopefully, we can now look at things as a clean slate that each and every one of us can write on.

I can understand how you might perceive that the retired players are disrespecting the active players. And in a few cases you may be right. However, I would hope that you can understand their frustrations in watching young, untested rookies walk away with multimillion dollar contracts today after they broke their bodies for what certainly seems like pocket change these days to even the lowest-paid players.

One of the best analogies I can make is that the pie kept growing over the years (and yes, we all gave Gene Upshaw his dues for his part in helping to make this happen). With gross revenues hitting $8 Billion (that’s Billion with a ‘B’), the contract negotiated for the players was close to 65% of revenues. And with so much money to spread around, common sense would dictate that you set aside a portion of that revenue for disability benefits and pensions. But unfortunately, Upshaw was the only guy in the room holding the knife to slice up the pie. So he cut up a large piece for the current players and their agents, the organization and everyone else except the retired and disabled players, with incredible salaries and bonuses for himself and all those he appointed around him. And I’m sure you and everyone else will agree it was certainly well-known that no one could or would step up and tell him otherwise for almost 25 years. With as much on the table to work with, it’s hard to fathom what the motivation may have been to completely overlook and exclude the retired and disabled players. So I’m simply not going to get into any armchair psychology here (we’ll leave that for a future post perhaps). It would be too easy at this stage to waste any more time on finger-pointing and blame but the fact of the matter is that you guys are all looking at what may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make things better.

I liked your example of how the active players would certainly take offense to being disrespected by the retired players. That said, I do want to address what I see as the biggest flaws in the NFLPA and its current structure (or lack thereof). And I can also do it using an example of fair turnaround. Let’s say, for example, that everything got reversed but with Upshaw still in total control. Let’s just say that the retired players got full recognition and received benefits that grew increasingly every year as revenues grew, while the current players just drafted out of college received starting salaries of $50,000 a year. And the current Board was comprised of 3 owners (or their reps) and 3 retired players (who favored the retired players), along with a chairman and Executive Director but with absolutely no representation for the current players. You can begin to imagine the resentment that would brew over 25 years of being completely ignored with no seat at the table. And then a few of the retired players come along and tell you, “Gee, if you’re really nice to us, maybe we’ll pay for your ticket to go to Hawaii so we can talk about this.” I’m not sure if there are very many guys out there who would still be able to hold on to their dignity and self-respect after being left out on the sidelines and mistreated for so long. Think of it this way: If it was such a good deal for the retired players to take a back seat and wait for their benefits later in their careers (which never come, by the way), then why are most current players and their agents demanding bigger and bigger signing bonuses and salaries up front?

To the outside world, Idi Amin was clearly a ruthless, 20th century dictator. But to his closest friends, family and business associates, he was incredibly generous because he shared his country’s fortune with them. He amassed billions in overseas accounts and when he was finally forced into “exile” in Saudi Arabia – Golden Handcuffs was probably a much better description – he lived the rest of his life in luxury with his wives and children. But if you asked the majority of the people who lived under his iron fist in Uganda (and I’ve personally met a lot of them here in Seattle), I have yet to run into a single one who would sing him any praises. In fact, most of them still cringe at the mention of his name despite his demise over 5 years ago (for fear he might still really be alive and in hiding since no one had actually seen his body).

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A winning strategy for Retired Players

Gentlemen -

If we want to improve our position in this fight we have to take our case directly to the Public. Wonderful work has been done and is being done by many of our Advocates through the Courts, the Media and Congress. Please keep pushing, fellas.

We can’t count on the NFLPA and the NFL to do more than they are forced to do for us and the Active Players just don’t understand that a contribution of as little as one-and-one-half pennies out of each dollar that they make could help the causes of Retired Players. Those young men do not understand the meaning of “Family” in regards to the Sport. Their position of “We’re doing great so why should we worry about a bunch of our old family members who made all of this possible for us,” is shameful but not unexpected. They are from the “Me Generation” and the PA and the League exploited them.

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As most of you now know, Disability Attorney, John Hogan, has taken charge of preparing and submitting my re-application for my T&P Disability Benefits from the NFLPA. I can’t speak highly enough of him and after receiving the following note from my friend, Tony Davis, we’ve all decided to provide John’s contact information on a post for the benefit of any other players who may be also looking for a great disability attorney. (This is completely unsolicited and based on our collective opinion of John’s work.)

I’ve received hundreds of e-mails from other players inquiring about the disability plan procedures. The best way i can help my fellow retirees is to direct you to an expert in the field of disability. I’m providing contact information for those needing assistance in determining your eligibility for disability. In the coming days, there will be important news to pass on to all of you with regards to our disability plan. I look forward to sharing this news with all of you.

Dave and I would like formally introduce all of you to Disability Attorney John Hogan. John’s role in helping the retired players cannot be measured. John is allowing me to pass his contact information on to all retired players.

Tony Davis

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Yesterday, word came out of San Fransisco that the Class Action suit, filed on our behalf, was certified by Judge William Alsup. This simply means that the judge felt there was substantial evidence to proceed. (We just posted Bernie Parrish’s personal update on Judge Alsup’s ruling HERE.) So how does the NFLPA pass on this information to you? Here’s their spun Press Release:

Judge Rejects Parrish Claim

Washington, D.C.– Federal District Court Judge William Alsup today rejected claims by former player Bernie Parrish that he should be allowed to represent a class of former players in a suit against the NFLPA. Citing “extreme remarks” and “racially charged comments” by Parrish along with his “personal vendetta against Gene Upshaw,” Judge Alsup ruled that Parrish could not pursue his claims on behalf of former players.

In further support for his ruling, Judge Alsup also cited apparent irregularities in Parrish’s stewardship of the Retired Professional Football Players for Justice, an organization which solicited “roughly $5,500″ in funds from NFL players which are now depleted. Judge Alsup noted that that organization has become inacticve, with no explanation as to how the $5,500 was spent by Parrish. As the Judge stated: “Parrish’s vindictive remarks aimed at defendants, the racial slurs in several of his statements, his stated unwillingness to ever settle this case, and his blemished track record of representing retired players–all demonstrate that he cannot be trusted to fulfill his fudiciary duty to the proposed class.”

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I want to make sure I read this correctly so I am posting it for all to read. The first statement is from the NFLPA announcing their changes in the eligibility requirements in application for Disability for those already drawing Disability from the Social Security Administration. Please read carefully (my emphasis).

“Players who have received a total and permanent disability determination from Social Security will not need to separately establish disability under the NFL plan. Players who were denied benefits under the NFL plan but have subsequently been found disabled by Social Security may have their NFL cases RECONSIDERED.”

Note the above did say Reconsidered.

Now we go to the recently-released Congressional CRS Report and here is their enterpretation on the exact same issue. Read carefully and see if you read what I read (my emphasis again):

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