NFL Hypocrisy

[mikey]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/4244898.html


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[the taildragger]

nice rant by Lopez.

problem is that to the average fan, it comes off like whining...like guys like Deacon just want to feed at the trough. But so what?, how are they not entitled?

Unfortunately it's going to take a movement by CURRENT players (harry carson alone isn't enough) to address it...and 99 out of 100 players today are too busy "feeding their own families" to care about Deacon Jones.

I don't know how anyone could argue that this doesn't come down to pure unadulterated shameless GREED on the part of the league...a factor which seems to play an increasingly dangerous role in everything the league does.

 

[Brownfan80]

Actually a pretty interesting read, when you get past the whine factor. Thanks Mikey.

 

[njpatsfan]

Oh boo hoo hoo. Normal people don't get benefits for life - why should NFL players who played 4-5 years in the league on the average ?

So you blew all you cash from your NFL salary ? Get a job and work for a living, like the rest of the planet. The only disgrace is the fact that these losers expect handouts.

Why should owners, who in most cases bought the teams long after 1977, have to pay benefits to people employed thirty years ago ?

Of course, if the the NFLPA was a REAL union, they could extend benefits tomorrow to those players. Of course, it would have to come out of the future dues of current players. See that happening ?

Perhpas Upshaw can contribute some of his $ 3 million in salary.

R

 

[sdaniels7114]

The players today don't get quite as much on payday because these retirement plans are in place. The players of yesterday got all of their money up front and often squandered it. Its the American way. Prepare for the future(businessperson) have someone do it for you (union member) or whine until the league is guilted into doing something.

I imagine the league will do something when a few more of them die of old age and the costs aren't so high, just for publicity; but they don't owe anyone anything.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Oh boo hoo hoo. Normal people don't get benefits for life - why should NFL players who played 4-5 years in the league on the average ?

So you blew all you cash from your NFL salary ? Get a job and work for a living, like the rest of the planet. The only disgrace is the fact that these losers expect handouts.

Why should owners, who in most cases bought the teams long after 1977, have to pay benefits to people employed thirty years ago ?

Of course, if the the NFLPA was a REAL union, they could extend benefits tomorrow to those players. Of course, it would have to come out of the future dues of current players. See that happening ?

Perhpas Upshaw can contribute some of his $ 3 million in salary.

R

Note: "At the heart of the loosely organized Hall of Fame boycott is the NFL's subpar pension plan for players who began their careers before 1977, when federal courts ruled the league was violating anti-trust laws."

NFL salaries before then were poor, especially considering the damage that players did to their long-term health by playing the game -- and the reason was the NFL's exploiting its monopolistic position to players' disadvantage (salaries jumped in the short period that NFL and AFL were in true competition).

Nor is Deacon Jones whining. He doesn't want the money for himself but for his fellow-players who have now fallen on hard times.

I'm not in the slightest surprised that Upshaw couldn't give a rodent's exposed rear end about the older players -- but I have every sympathy for them. The NFL is a huge cash cow that could easily afford to do the right thing by (say) picking up all the medical bills of older players. I think that it is a massive piece of cheek on the part of the NFL to want to use the older players as part of its self-promotion but to take no notice of their (genuine) hardship.

 

[upstater1]

nice rant by Lopez.

problem is that to the average fan, it comes off like whining...like guys like Deacon just want to feed at the trough. But so what?, how are they not entitled?

Unfortunately it's going to take a movement by CURRENT players (harry carson alone isn't enough) to address it...and 99 out of 100 players today are too busy "feeding their own families" to care about Deacon Jones.

I don't know how anyone could argue that this doesn't come down to pure unadulterated shameless GREED on the part of the league...a factor which seems to play an increasingly dangerous role in everything the league does.

Did you read the article? Deacon says he is well set financially. He's been going to the HOF for ages. He said he's doing this for guys who have no money and no insurance and no benefits.

You people do realize that we don't have natinoal healthcare in this country right? That means there are only four options for health insurance. Your employer provides insurance, you don't have any insurance, you get private inurance which only the rich can afford, you go on the dole.

 

[RayClay]

http://www.jaguars.com/story/4284.asp

Some of us were fortunate to see Sayers while others probably saw the movie.

His equivalent today would be Reggie Bush, probably. With an average career of 2-3 years and the injuries incurred, I think today's players could do something for the guys that carried the league when it wasn't so lucrative

With an average player making about 10,000 and playing 2-3 years, there wasn't much to "squander".

Most players worked jobs in the offseason to make ends meet.

This is a little bit from a Jaguar's Q&A column.

"Ed from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
Speaking of the vicious football from the 1970's, I just watched “Brian's Song” for the 25th time. How much money did a Sayers and a Piccolo make back then?

Vic: Wrong decade, Ed. Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo played in the 1960's. Sayers was a first-round pick and a marquee player, so he probably averaged $20,000-$30,000 a year for his career.


Piccolo was a marginal player, so he probably would've been in the $7,000 a year range. Signing bonuses when Sayers and Piccolo broke into the league ranged from $500 to a couple of thousand dollars."

 

[the taildragger]

Did you read the article?

Deacon says he is well set financially. He's been going to the HOF for ages. He said he's doing this for guys who have no money and no insurance and no benefits.

You people do realize that we don't have natinoal healthcare in this country right? That means there are only four options for health insurance. Your employer provides insurance, you don't have any insurance, you get private inurance which only the rich can afford, you go on the dole.

Did you read my response?

I said people will THINK he's whining...which the next few posters after me kindly reinforced. I SUPPORT HIM.

Here's a thought...try making your point without the need to slam someone who agrees with you.