NFL's current players ignoring retired vets' needs

NFL's current players ignoring retired vets' needs
January 30
New York Daily News columnist Gary Myers

"Vikings center Matt Birk sent a letter that was express-mailed and delivered to every NFL player right after Thanksgiving. He asked they donate a portion of their game check from the Dec.21 games to Gridiron Greats, the charity that benefits former players in need.

There are 53 players on each team. There are 32 teams. That's 1,696 players.

According to Jennifer Smith, the executive director of Gridiron Greats, as of Thursday a total of 10-15 players have sent in checks in response to what they were calling Gridiron Guardian Sunday.

The response was not 10-15 players per team. That's 10-15 players total. That's not even one player per team. The money collected has reached $175,000, but $50,000 of that came from Birk himself.

That's pathetic and embarrassing. For today's players to turn their backs on their forefathers who helped build the foundation that has transformed the NFL into an $8 billion a year industry with the players getting 60% of the revenue must make it hard for them to sleep at night.

Birk's letter explained to the players that the NFL "is a brotherhood, and once you are in the brotherhood, you're always in. Some of our former brothers are hurting. Let's not forget about these guys."

Low pension payments are a problem for the retired players, getting disability benefits has become a hopeless exercise in cutting through red tape and the old-timers believe the NFL and the NFL Players Association have forgotten about them, despite some recent improvements to their benefits.

So, the plan was to go directly to the players, many of them millionaires many times over. The results have been disappointing, to say the least. The NFL can charge $1,000 for Super Bowl tickets, but many of these former players, broken down and in pain, have to go begging for help. The message has not gotten through to the players currently in the locker room. "A lot of guys worry about the right now," Birk said. "The average career is two years, contracts are not guaranteed. And the NFLPA has attacked Gridiron Greats, saying these retired players are in the predicament they are in because of their own doing, because of their own bad choices."

It's an awful thing for today's players not to help their own.

"They don't care," said former Bears coach Mike Ditka, very active in Gridiron Greats. "They make a lot of money. It's a dog-eat-dog world. You hate to put it that way, but they care about themselves. When you are young, you think you are invincible. I can run through that wall, I can drink all this beer, nothing is going to hurt me. All of a sudden, it starts hurting you when you are not in the game anymore.""
Link