For 38 years (1920 to 1958) No Pension Plan 1959 First Pension plan for 110 players in the League 1966 Bernie Parrish and the Teamsters 1970 Player Strike - CBA changed the Plan to a defined

benefits plan. 1974 Player Strike "No freedom, No football.“ The standoff lasted through the 1974, 1975 and 1976

seasons. 1976 - The players began to win court cases. John Mackey  1977 CBA. Pensions increased but the 1982 Player Strike “55% Percent of Gross” Pensions

Increased. Still no true Free Agency 1987 Player Strike “Scab Football” NFLPA Decertifies as Union sues NFL for Anti-Trust Violations 1993 Settlement CBA “Free Agency for Players & Cap for

Owners”

Credited Season in Plan Year Benefit Credit

Before 1982 $250

1982 through 1992 $255

1993 and 1994 $265

1995 and 1996 $315

1997 $365

1998 through the expiration of Plan $470

The value of the Plan assets as of March 31, 2008 was $1,130,763, 632

The value of the Plan’s assets as of March 31, 2009 were approximately $750,000,000.

That is a net loss of over $380,000,000! Earnings from investments for the period April 1,

2007 to March 31, 2008 were $3,716,733 Administrative and investment expenses of the

Plan were $10,297,477 Administrators and investors made $6,580,744

more than the Plan earned, and this was before the economic downturn.

A total of 10,407 persons were participants (vested players) or beneficiaries of the plan

Beneficiaries include monies paid for widows and survivor benefits and some disability payments

$79,884,021 in Pension benefits were paid to participants and beneficiaries.

NFLPA WEBSITE

Second Career Savings Plan Annuity Plan Severance Pay 5 Years Free Medical After

Retirement Health Reimbursement Account Tuition Assistance

The NFLPA negotiated a first-time-ever benefit in 1993 known as the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan (401(k)). When combined with the Severance Pay Benefit and a vested player’s pension benefits, it helps provide lifetime financial security for veteran NFL players.

Player Annuity Program puts even more money away for the player’s eventual retirement. In 2007, the clubs will collectively put $73 million aside for player annuities. To be eligible, a player must have at least four Credited Seasons in the NFL. The amount allocated to each player in 2007 will be about $65,000 per player.

The benefit news gets even better with the increase in pension under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. Players with three or more Credited Seasons are eligible to receive a pension, generally beginning at age 55. Beginning with the 1998 Credited Season, a player gets a benefit credit of $470 for each Credited Season he earns. As a result, a player with eight Credited Seasons from 2000 through 2007 will get $3,760 per month at age 55. Obviously, players with more Credited Seasons will see their pensions increase even more.

NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan (“HRA Plan”), this plan puts aside $25,000 for each Credited Season played, to a maximum of $300,000, for each player who either: (1) Earned a Credited Season in 2006 (or later years in which a salary cap is in effect) and has three or more Credited Seasons, or (2) had his last Credited Season in 2004 or 2005 and has at least eight Credited Seasons. The player can use this money to pay medical expenses after his post-career medical insurance expires, which is usually about five years after retirement.

"There are some guys out there that have made bad business decisions. They've had a couple divorces and they're making payments to this place and that place. And that's why they don't have money. And they're coming to us to basically say, 'Please make up for my bad judgment.' In that case, that's not our fault as players.”

“Not all retired players support our Union. I was asked why and I can only speculate…Do they have their own individual agendas? Are they selfish or greedy like the NFL owners who say they want to take back from the players. Do they work for the NFL? Or… are they depressed ex-players who were kicked in the head as a player and then kicked to the side of the road after their careers ended?, now old and frustrated looking at this great game they helped to build feeling nobody cares and that the world has passed them by.”

“I look at this problem that’s facing some of the retired players of this game, it’s a big problem. It’s a problem that shouldn’t exist because of the financial success of the league today. It’s important as we go forward to remember those who built this game up, and I think I speak for a lot of current players, and I think for all current players, whether they know it or not, the game isn’t as big and successful as it is today because we showed up. It’s obviously taken a long time, generations to get to this point.”