Labor & Employment Law

NFL Owners Threaten to Force Players to Pay Own Health Care in Lockout

By James Parks

The National Football League (NFL) just announced it will suspend players who intentionally injure another player with a helmet-to-helmet hit. But what about owners who intentionally deliver what could be crippling blows to players?  

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently announced players would be responsible for any health care costs incurred during a league lockout. Despite making millions on the backs of players, the owners are threatening to lock out the players next season if they don?t agree to givebacks, totaling a staggering $1 billion, including salary cuts.

The NFL owners, most of whom are super-rich, terminated the current collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) two years early because they said it wasn?t working for them. Yet, the owners took in $9 billion in revenue during the worst economic crisis since the 1930s Depression. In fact, all 32 teams increased in value about 500 percent over the past 15 years and not one team lost money last year.

Forcing players to pay for health care would impose a major expense on players, who have a high injury rate and who often suffer concussions and other dangerous injuries. An NFL player?s career, on average, lasts just 3.4 years and players only get five years of health care after they retire.

Writing on American Rights at Work?s Blog at Work, Michael Wasser says:

?at a time when corporate recklessness led to a dysfunctional economy for all workers, we should be troubled by any employer?s willingness to withhold health care coverage to press for tomorrow?s pay cuts. Especially when that employer is pulling in major profits, as is the case for each NFL franchise. It?s not right on the factory floor, and it?s not right for football.

The players are united and have the backing of the union movement and the workers in the stadiums. The players kicked off the season with a show of solidarity before a national TV audience. Players for the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints came out on the field holding up their index fingers. It was a statement by the players that off the field they ?stand as one? in collective bargaining talks with the team owners.

The players have set up a website to explain their position and to get out the facts about team owners? revenue and their plans for a lockout. Check out 2011 Lockout Central here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).