{"id":351997,"date":"2011-03-30T21:49:22","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T21:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/30\/owners-pay-177m-to-cap-player-benefits-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-30T21:49:22","modified_gmt":"2011-03-30T21:49:22","slug":"owners-pay-177m-to-cap-player-benefits-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/30\/owners-pay-177m-to-cap-player-benefits-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Owners pay $177M to cap player benefits (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP)\u2014NFL owners will pay $177 million on Thursday to complete
\ntheir contributions to the player benefits program for the 2010 season.<\/p>\n

That payment will bring the total amount funded by the 32 teams for 2010 to
\n$245 million. It is a payment the league has made by the end of March each year
\nunder its collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.<\/p>\n

The CBA expired on March 11 and the NFLPA dissolved as a union. The league
\nthen locked out the players.<\/p>\n

Ownership contributions fund player benefits that include the pension plan,
\ngroup medical insurance, the disability plan, and the \u201c88\u201d program for retired
\nplayers with dementia or related conditions.<\/p>\n

The NFLPA said in a statement that the league was doing no more than
\nfulfilling its contractual obligations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next press release that comes from (NFL headquarters) should announce
\nthat the owners have lifted the lockout, the ultimate benefit to players and
\nfans,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith recently said the league
\ncontributes \u201czero\u201d to former player pensions. But the league said Wednesday
\nthat in the past 10 years the owners have contributed more than $2.7 billion
\ntoward various NFL benefit plans for current and retired players.<\/p>\n

Future pension payments have been an issue in the failed contract
\nnegotiations that led to the current lockout. The players\u2019 association has noted
\nthe NFL paid $10 million less per club in benefits in 2010 compared to 2009.
\nUnder the rules negotiated for the uncapped 2010 season, though, some money was
\nshifted from benefits to salary.<\/p>\n

NFL owners will deposit the $177 million with BNY Mellon, an investment
\nservices company based in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cNFL players would like to thank the NFL for issuing a press release
\ntouting their contractual and legal obligations,\u201d the NFLPA said in the
\nstatement. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for players, namely John Gordy, players wouldn\u2019t have
\nany benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordy, a former offensive lineman for the Lions who helped form the players
\nassociation, died last year. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection before a
\nknee injury led to his retirement in 1967.<\/p>\n

On Monday in Minneapolis, four former NFL players, including Hall of Fame
\ndefensive end Carl Eller, sued the league in hope of joining current players in
\ntheir antitrust fight to halt the lockout. Their lawsuit seeks class-action
\nstatus on behalf of all retired or former NFL players who receive health,
\nretirement or other benefits from the league or its subsidized plans, arguing
\nthose benefits will be jeopardized by the loss of NFL revenue in an extended
\nlockout.<\/p>\n

Shawn Stuckey, an attorney for the former and future players, said he
\nintends to ask the court to combine the retirees\u2019 lawsuit with the antitrust
\nsuit filed by Tom Brady<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Drew Brees<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Peyton Manning<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and others.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to every
\ncurrent player in which he cited \u201cenhanced retirement benefits for pre-1993
\nplayers\u201d as part of the league\u2019s last offer to the NFLPA before talks
\ncollapsed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 2,000 former players would have received an immediate increase
\nin their pensions averaging nearly 60 percent, funded entirely by the owners,\u201d
\nGoodell wrote.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See more here:
\nOwners pay $177M to cap player benefits (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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