Joe DeLamielleure: Split the $300 Million down the middle!

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Jeff Nixon I recently read that Bennie Joppru, an NFLPA former player chapter member asked retired player advocate – Jeff Nixon, to take him off the list of players that receive information because Jeff posted a newspaper article about the arrest of Mike Vrabel.  Mr. Joppru felt that Jeff “crossed the line” because it was a “fellow player.”

I’ve got news for Mr. Joppru. Mike Vrabel is not a fellow player. He is an active player. At some point he will become a fellow alumni, but until that day comes, he will still be part of the active player group that has – to a large degree – ignored retired player issues and concerns.  Mr. Joppru “played” six years in the NFL – and like Mike Vrabel, he will enjoy the benefits that players like me went on strike to achieve. In his six year career as a tight end, Mr. Joppru played in a total of 19 games, but never started a single game and never caught a single pass in his entire career. He was a second round pick in 2003, so he probably got a hefty bonus and a real nice salary. I don’t know why he never really made it as a starter.

 I do know this: He will get a monthly pension of $2,820 at age 55…… and he will receive the same benefits that Mike Vrabel will receive. Benefits that only post 1993 players will receive. My monthly pension is $1,247.96 cents. As Jeff Nixon noted in one of his articles “Most retired players had no NFL Disability Plan, no Severance Pay Plan, no Health Reimbursement Account, no Tuition Assistance Reimbursement, no Player Performance Pool, no Minimum Salary Benefit, No Player Annuity Program, no Second Career Savings Plan, no five years of free medical coverage, no second medical opinion, no rules that protected players, no special helmets or special protective equipment, no right to our own images that were used by the NFLPA and the NFL and no Pension for pre-1993 players with less than 4 years of service. We played on crappy artificial turf that shortened our careers. We endured primitive surgical techniques and became the unintentional guinea pigs for today’s players. We were given drugs and treatments by team physicians that are now outlawed by the NFL. We practiced without water and some players died of heat stroke. We had team physicians that were ordered to get us back on the field even though they knew we were injured. We were blackballed by the League for our union activities. The list goes on and on and on.”  I am glad that Jeff Nixon removed Bennie Joppru from the list of former players that are provided documented and well

researched information. Yes, Jeff has opinions too. We all do – and we should be allowed to express them without being labeled as malcontents and players that have “crossed the line” of player loyalty.  Jeff has been more critical of the NFLPA then the owners, but that’s only because the NFLPA says it represents us. The owners have never made that claim. I read Jim McFarland’s long-winded diatribe about how we are now represented at the table by him and Cornelius Bennett, but when the rubber meets the road, they will not be part of the group that votes on the next CBA. They are just part of the window dressing that DeMaurice Smith has hung up to make everyone think that the room is now beautiful.  Mr. McFarland says we can disagree without being disagreeable, but then he launches an all out attack on retired players that have been supplying retired players with a wealth of information about the issues, saying “the misleading and erroneous information being promulgated on the blogs and in the media is being used by the various interest groups to promote their own agendas.” The retired players that have spoken out, particularly those at Fourth and Goal, have only one agenda. Get retired players the Pension and Disability Benefits that they deserve!  

Mr. McFarland says that we are using “half-truths, distortions, and misstatements” but he doesn’t give one single example in his entire hot-winded statement. He tells us that “DeMaurice Smith has been the object of criticism from the NFL and its “minions” as well as some of the former player organizations and their mouthpieces.”  Mr. McFarland and other NFLPA Chapter Presidents were very upset with George Martin for using the term “minions” when referring to people at the NFLPA……but I guess he feels it’s ok for him to use that term in describing former players like me and others that have dared to speak the truth about the Union, the active players and the political games that are being played.  He says we have to stop the “Demonizing” players and groups, but then has the self-righteous nerve to refer to us as minions – a term associated with Satan’s helpers!  As a Catholic, I take great offense to that. 

In talking about retired player criticism of the selection of DeMaurice Smith instead of a former NFL player he said “The job requires someone who is aware of the power of public relations in a labor dispute.” We have seen firsthand the power of his public relations:

        He told retired players and the public that former player benefits would be eliminated in an uncapped year. That was lie.         He told retired players and the public that the owners provide “zero” benefits to former players. That was a lie.         He told retired players and the public that George Martin

was “hired” by the owners. That was a lie.  He old retired players that the owners pay nothing to the pension plan for former players. That’s a lie (I agree that it’s not enough, but he should at least acknowledge that it is a benefit that was negotiated in CBA’s since 1968) These were all scare tactics to try and draw retired players into supporting the NFLPA.

I could go on and on with the list, but something tells me that it would be a waste of my time trying to convince someone like Mr. McFarland that he is being used as a “Mouthpiece for Maurice”.

Mr. McFarland is quite impressed with what he calls the “numerous accomplishments on behalf of former players since he became NFLPA Executive Director.” None of the things that Mr. Smith has done will mean anything unless he and the active players substantially increase the Pension Plan for ALL pre-1993 retired players and make the necessary reforms to the Disability Plan.  He has done nothing until that happens!  The NFLPA has a lot of former players like Mr. McFarland and Mr. Joppru brainwashed into believing that the active players and retired players are “One Team.”  I wish that were true.  Mr. Joppru just recently stopped playing in the NFL, so maybe he thinks he’s still on the team.  One thing’s for sure, he doesn’t know the truth behind what has happened in the past, what is

happening today, and how the Union has in fact causing the division in the ranks of retired players.  You can see that happening, by the way they  diverting attention away from the NFLPA and onto the NFL Alumni.   Why are the NFLPA and former players like Jim McFarland so fixated on George Martin?  He doesn’t sit at the bargaining table with the owners. They continually bash him because they need a scapegoat for their own shortcomings. Mr. Martin is an advocate for retired players – plain and simple – but he will not be voting on the next CBA so it’s time to stop trying to make him out to be the enemy.  The NFLPA needs to focus on their adversary – the owners, and stop all the nonsense about the NFL Alumni.  The NFL Alumni is a “red herring” and if DeMaurice Smith continues using this destructive tactic, it will only increase the division in the ranks of retired players.     Mr. McFarland pointed out in his letter that George Martin was an advocate for Long Term Care Insurance benefit, but he also acknowledges that the NFLPA would not agree to help fund it because they said it didn’t cover enough retired players.  Well, the fact is it could have covered ALLl players if the NFLPA had chipped in on the funding.  Did they?  No they didn’t.  That alone, should tell you a lot about the NFLPA and their commitment to retired players!   When I see what the union has done to increase benefits –  just for the guys that came after 1993 – benefits to the tune of around $400 Million annually – and at the same time here some retired players tell us all the “numerous accomplishments” that

DeMaurice Smith has achieved for retired players – it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.  DeMaurice Smith has taken the baton from Gene Upshaw and in one of his first acts as the new Executive Director of the NFLPA he renamed the Union headquarters “Upshaw Place.” During the dedication ceremony he said “No one can ever be Mr. Upshaw. But everyone says the same thing about his legacy: He was a great leader.” I think that hundreds, if not thousands of retired players might disagree with that statement; especially the pre-1993 players that have three credited seasons in the NFL and are still not eligible for a pension!     Gene Upshaw knew who buttered his bread and in 1993 he negotiated a CBA that gave the active players a pension after only 3 credited seasons. Like Gene Upshaw, Mr. DeMaurice Smith has never tried to level the playing field on that issue.  Why ? Because it could potentially reduce the amount of money available for active player salaries and benefits.  Additionally, DeMaurice Smith and the active players have said nothing about trying to assist the players that took early retirement.  I am one of those players.  We were told that NFL players were dying at an earlier age then the normal population, so we did what we thought was best for our families.  Many of the players that took early retirement and the social security election are now receiving pension payments that are less than $200 a month.  Hall of Fame player, Ron Mix has don a tremendous job explaining why these players continue to be

punished everytime there has been an increase in the Pension Plan.   Back on March 18, 2010 I wrote an open letter to Drew Brees because he had made the following statement about retired players:  “There’s some guys out there that have made bad business decisions. 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.”    Drew Brees sits on the NFLPA Executive Committee.  The key group that will decide what type of pension increase – if any – we will get in the next CBA.  This is one of the guys that will be negotiating on behalf of retired players.  God help us! Mr. McFarland pointed out all the great and chartable things Drew does in the community. That’s great. I do a lot of things to help the community too. Lots of retired players help their communities.  None of that matters when it comes time for him and the active players to vote on a CBA.  We will see what he really thinks of the pioneer players when they divide up the 9 Billion pot of money this time. If he brings home the bacon for retired players, I will be the first in line to thank him and congratulate him for looking out for the guys that built the foundations of the NFL.   Some people say retired players shouldn’t say anything negative about active players because they hold the purse strings and they

might be offended if we criticize them.  They might be less inclined to do something for us. Well screw them and the Mercedes Benz, or Hummer, or BMW they rode in on!  All you have to do to see the difference between today’s players and the players of our era is look at the player parking lot!  And that’s just the vehicle some of them decided to drive to work on that day. Before anyone accuses me of being “jealous” I want them to know that I am doing well for myself.  An increase in the pension plan is not going to make or break me. As a Hall of Fame player, many doors have been opened for me, but that cannot be said of thousands of players that spilled their blood on the field and walked – excuse me – “hobbled” away from the game of professional football. They are who I am fighting for.      Retired players have never received anything from the NFLPA that they weren’t basically forced to do under pressure from a vocal minority of former players.  

These are the same players that DeMaurice Smith said “There will be those who cross the picket line of player loyalty tomorrow just as there were those who crossed the line against you. While many don’t remember the players who crossed and betrayed players trust, I do remember and our current players know”. 

I wish Mr. Smith would call me a “scab” to my face.  He would find out real quick what the NFL term “getting pancaked” means!   No one – including DeMaurice Smith, Jim McFarland, or any other “so called advocates” will intimidate us, or stop us from questioning them and others at the NFLPA – and it will not stop us from getting factual information out to retired players regarding the pension plan, the disability plan and other issues that are important to us. Retired players haven’t forgotten how the NFLPA treated us in recent years.  Mr. Smith was wise to settle the Class Action suit, but that doesn’t mean it never happened.  Many of the same people that tried so hard to defeat us and discredit us are still employed at the NFLPA.  That alone speaks volumes about the state of the Union. DeMaurice Smith has talked the talk.  He said “We have a moral obligation to the retired players, we have a fiduciary obligation to the retired players. That obligation has to be both in words and deeds. If you fail in either one, you fail.”   

Now it’s time to walk the walk. In their last proposal to the active players, the owners put $300 Million on the table – money that would come from a new rookie pay system that would re-allocate more than $300 million per draft class to fund benefits for current and retired players. 

Me and 80 other Hall of Fame players have called for a Rookie Wage Scale, but Mr. Smith would not go for that. Nonetheless, it appears that he may be open to some type of cap on the overall amount of money paid to rookies. Let’s split that right down the middle and put $150 million annually into the pension plan to help all pre-1993 vested players. The NFL and the NFLPA could do that deal tomorrow – even without a new CBA. That would be a small drop in the 9 Billion dollar bucket. After they finish that small bit of business, they can go back to the table and figure out how to split up the rest of the Golden Goose eggs. Does anyone think that is going to happen?  No.  That’s because the NFL and NFLPA both want to continue using the retired players in their high stakes poker game.  We are just one small chip in their stack, but they want to hold on to it for dear life – as leverage in their negotiations. The only way this is going to happen, is if retired players start speaking out “loudly” and start holding our elected representatives and

I agree with Jeff Nixon when he said in one of his articles “Believe it or not, most retired players want DeMaurice Smith to succeed in his negotiations with the owners.  I know I do, but only if success is defined as an increase in retired

player pensions and reforms to the disability plan.  We don’t want to be used as pawns to leverage additional money from the owners.  They are already paying over $736   million annually for benefits which are going mostly to guys that played after 1993.

If Mr. McFarland and Cornelius Bennett were true advocates of retired players, they would ask the NFLPA to split the $300 Million that NFL owners have put on the table for active and retired players.

Will they do that?  I don’t know.

Maybe you should ask them yourself by sending them an email at the following addresses:

Jim McFarland      jimmcfarl@aol.comCornelius Bennett   ckbennett97@aol.com