NFL Players Association goes to Congress for help

The National Football League Players Association officially asked Congress to extend their authority in approving disability claims.

NFL Players Association goes to Congress for help With the problem with the disability claims and pensions of former generations of football players taking a new height, the National Football League Players Association asked Congress on Tuesday to give more authority to the PA when dealing with the disability claims. The director of the NFL's Players Association, Gene Upshaw, says that the association is currently limited to its abilities to process claims for the huge number of former players shattered by years of football. Upshaw and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell claim that the problem with the pensions is improving, but help will be required to tackle the problem with the disability claims.

The union is asking the Congress to change the current federal law, which gives the Players Association appointment of only three retired former players to the board that reviews disability claims, while the other three members are appointed by NFL owners. The NFLPA is also asking for less bureaucracy in the claim process and better workers compensation laws.

This is not the first time this problem has been brought to the attention of the Congress. Earlier this year a House hearing was held to look deeper into the problem, with several former NFL stars testifying about the injuries they have suffered and the little that has been done by the league and the Players Association in that direction. The fund for disability and pensions is currently $1.1 billion, but older generations of football players have been openly critical of how little of the fund goes to help them.

Published on 09/18/2007