After the NFLPA went out of business in March and 10 players filed a lawsuit against the league in order to, among other things, end the lockout, a group of retired players followed suit by filing a suit of their own.
The only problem? The retired players, led by Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, had no legal rights, beyond whatever legal rights they negotiated when they were playing the game and had actual, you know, leverage.
They nevertheless tried to make a power play in the hopes of finagling a better deal.
Finally, the Eller plaintiffs have realized that the case has no merit. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit has been voluntarily dismissed.
The lawyers are now saying that the end of the lockout rendered the Eller lawsuit moot, ignoring the fact that they nevertheless tried to push the claims even after the lawsuit ended.
I continue to believe that today’s players and teams have a moral obligation to help the men on whose shoulders today’s caretakers of the games stand. But the retired players have no legal right to force the NFL and the NFLPA to do anything more than what the NFL promised to the retired players when they were current players.