As the NFL and the players’ union continue to squabble over benefits for retired players, the NFL Alumni Association is publicly turning up the heat on Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.
In a statement headlined, “Attention Mr. Smith and Mr. Goodell: We Need a Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action,” the Alumni Association suggests that the union and the league aren’t interested in improving retired players’ pension plans nearly as much as they’re interested in using pensions “as a PR tool in gaining support for their respective agendas.”
“While the propaganda suggests otherwise, little or no action has been taken by the NFL and NFLPA to increase pensions for retired players,” the Alumni Association says in its statement.
The retired players don’t have a seat at the bargaining table in the ongoing labor negotiations, but what they do have is the ability to publicly lobby the active players and the owners to take care of the men who built the league. Expect a lot more statements like this as the NFL Alumni continue to wage a PR campaign to get the owners and the players to cut them in on the next CBA.