NFL, union to aid retired players.

Unions are only out for their own benefit...keep that in mind.

You better believe it. That's the problem, they are a bunch of greedy bastards! How can you possibly turn your back, when there is PLENTY enough cash to take care of both sides. The NFL is raking in RECORD profits.

I couln't sleep at night!

You better believe it. That's the problem, they are a bunch of greedy bastards! How can you possibly turn your back, when there is PLENTY enough cash to take care of both sides. The NFL is raking in RECORD profits.

I couln't sleep at night!
Remember, the union membership is mostly made up of players in their 20's. Most people at that age are only worried about the paycheck... not the retirement and benefits. Now, take that and multiply it by 100 and that is the kids in the NFL and the crazy money they are seeing.

POSTED 1:42 p.m. EDT, May 26, 2007

DITKA, UPSHAW DUKING IT OUT

There's an intriguing squabble brewing between the head of the NFL Players Association and a talking head who is the resident crotchety old man on ESPN's coverage of pro football.

Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame tight end who coached the Bears to a Super Bowl win 21 years ago, has been firing off about the manner in which the NFLPA does (or, as the case may be, doesn't) take care of its former members.

On Friday, Ditka took it up a notch. A big notch.

Ditka claimed on a Chicago radio station that Upshaw is breaking the law, and that the Senate will be investigating the union soon.

"[Upshaw is] taking loans from the Players Association which are illegal,'' Ditka said on WMVP-AM in Chicago. ''You cannot take any loan which [is] over $4,000 from the union. He's on the books for over [a] $100,000 loan, which is really a criminal offense.

"There's going to be a Senate investigation of the National Football League Player's Association, believe me,'' he said, ''and we'll see what happens, that's all. They brought it on themselves."

Upshaw's response?

"That is so farfetched that it's not even believable,'' he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ''I would not dignify those comments with a response, other than to say it shows how out of touch he is. Consider the source. This is all Mike Ditka whistling Dixie.

''Why would I take an illegal loan? And the limit is $2,000. That's stupid. Whatever I get from the players association and my salary are reported. He's nuts. We report every transaction. Ditka's not interested in the facts.''

Upshaw told the Sun-Times that he hopes to address the matter directly with Ditak. ''I'm not afraid of talking to Mike,'' he said. ''My record of what I have done is unmatched.''

Who knows what'll happen next. But Ditka is the first high-profile NFL figure to ever call out Upshaw so loudly. Even if Ditka is off the mark, the mere fact that he's throwing the darts is amazing to us.

Especially since no one else of Ditka's ilk previously have even dared to try.

I don't know much if anything about the loan thing.... I can see both points in their dislike... Ditka feels the union owes it to the older guys to take care of them.... He is right, to a point.

The older guys did not have the clout to get the benefits they needed. Now that the younger guys have the clout, they are only interested in themselves. Gene Upshaw is the target that Ditka is directing his anger at.... but it shouldn't be Upshaw, but in fact the union that gives Upshaw his direction. If the current players wanted to work hard to take care of the guys who laid the foundation for their success... then I am sure the NFLPA would get it done with Upshaw in the lead putting pressure on the NFL.

I've never understood why Pro athletes would want a labor union as it has been known in this country. They could hire a law firm to do everything the NFLPA does and probably for less. I suppose Federal Law more or less compells them to have a union in order to bargain collectively, enjoy certain protections, etc. But I mean why create a monster like Upshaw when you could have an expendable lawyer do the same thing. Get tired of the lawyer, hire a new one. Upshaw will never go away.

I definitely feel that the older guys, the ones who played football during the time where football players were not making millions should have some type of retirement plan. For the current players who are making multi-millions, it's hard for me to feel sorry for them.

I definitely feel that the older guys, the ones who played football during the time where football players were not making millions should have some type of retirement plan. For the current players who are making multi-millions, it's hard for me to feel sorry for them.
The older guys do get a pension based on the number of years they played. Please do not quote me, but someone like Herb Adderly (Old Packer from the glory days) makes somewhere around 500 a month.

You can look at that and say that isn't that much (and it's not)... you can also say how many of our jobs that we worked from when we were 22-35 (a long career in the NFL) give us a pension? To continue that arguement... It is a shame for the Willie Wood's & Mike Websters of the world that the disability is not more though.

This is long overdue with regards to the old, old school players that only got paid like $200-$300 a game, etc. The money being made is quite ridiculous for these guys not being cared for at all. With that being said, I think a grandfather type clause should be made for the plan though. The guys in the FA era with the average salary at over a million a season should be set for life with regards to health care. Like the above post, it is very hard for me working in an auto related venture in Detroit working 40-50 hours a week with being stuck with a relatively weak healthcare plan feeling sorry for a bunch of multimillionaires in the new age of the NFL.

Let's just take a deep breath here...

IF - and I said IF - Mike Ditka's allegations are correct and Gene Upshaw has taken illegal loans from the NFLPA, expect to see Upshaw take the proverbial "perp walk" with cameras focused on him and with him trying to shiled his face from those cameras. Federal Prexecutors love to have that happen because it gives them face time with a lot of cameras focused on them and no one else. AND if it is all provably true that he took illegal loans, expect to see Gene Upshaw copping a plea or spending time in "Club Fed".

Or maybe - just MAYBE - none of that is right...

Gene Upshaw represents the CURRENT NFLPA membership and no one else. Even guys who were in the NFL and dues-payng members in 2006 but who are now retired or no longer in the league for whatever reason are NOT the folks he represents. His obligation is to the current players; he has a moral obligation to fomer players - such as himself - but that's secondary or maybe even tertiary.

Recall that Congress and the various Administarions have had a MORAL obligation to fix the Social Security "problem" ever since it became apparent that it was going to blow up in the face of the county. That would be sometime around 1990 - 1992 as I recall. And all of those noble and moral folks have done what to resolve the problem since then? Moral obligations are like oral contracts; they aren't worth the paper their printed on.

Look for Ditka and his cohorts to keep the pressure on the NFLPA and on the league to take care of old-time players who are in need. You can even root for them to be successful in that endeavor. But don't make the mistake of blaming all of this on Gene Upshaw or the NFLPA leadership; they are no more responsible for this tradedy than they are for the poor response to the needs of folks after Hurricane Katrina...