WASHINGTON—The NFL and NFL Players Association have reached an agreement in principle on the new Legacy Benefit, which was included in the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement as a way to provide financial assistance to former NFL players.
The NFL approved the NFLPA’s Legacy Benefit proposal Wednesday. Cornelius Bennett, Chairman of the NFLPA’s Former Player Board of Directors, announced the news to the leadership during a conference call Thursday afternoon.
“We have an agreement in principle on the Legacy Benefit,” Bennett told 35 former players on the call.
Created to provide increased pensions under the NFL retirement plan for vested players who played prior to 1993, the Legacy Benefit is another impressive accomplishment by the union as part of the CBA. With $620 million over the life of the 10-year agreement going towards substantially raising the pensions of vested former players, the union’s most senior members will enjoy an improved quality of life.
The agreement is contingent upon the final actuary approval of the proposal. The union is hoping to get payments disbursed by the end of the 2011 calendar year, but a firm date for those distributions has not been set. The NFLPA notified its former player membership of the news in an email Thursday following the conference call.
“It’s historic,” said Nolan Harrison, Senior Director of NFLPA Former Players. “In the history of labor, this has never happened. This is going to be a life-changer for the approximately 5,000 guys this is going to help.”
The NFLPA’s Former Players Board of Directors and chapter presidents were encouraged to contact the NFLPA’s benefits department with individual questions, as each person will have a different calculation of how the benefit affects him. But, as Harrison put it, “Nothing else needs to be negotiated. This is finally a done deal.”
These former players, upon whose legacy the NFLPA stands today, will feel its impact for the rest of their lives as it is a lifetime benefit. The men who have helped make the game what it is today will see their quality of life improve.
“I think it’s going to do a lot of good for a lot of people,” said Jim McFarland, a member of the NFLPA’s Former Players Board of Directors.
Players who were vested in the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Retirement Plan prior to 1993 are eligible for the new Legacy Benefit. If any player is vested before 1993, and has credited seasons after 1993, those pre-1993 seasons are the only ones that will benefit from the Legacy Benefit payments. The Legacy Benefit will be paid for the lifetime of any vested player before 1993, and will be accessible to the vested player upon reaching age 55.
The Legacy Benefit will be allowed to be taken separately from pension payments. Just like the Bell/Rozelle Plan, the longer a former player waits to take the Legacy Benefit payment between ages 55-65, the more it increases. There is a $600 floor built into the Legacy Benefit to assist those who took their pensions early.
Players who played before 1974 will receive $124 per month times their credited NFL seasons. Players who played from 1974 to 1992 will receive $108 per month times their credited NFL seasons. Legacy Benefit payments will be retroactive to August 4, 2011.
“We’ve had our ups and downs with this, but this is really going to help a lot of guys,” Bennett told members on the call. “This is what it’s about. I thank you all. You should all be proud of yourselves.”
