Attorneys for the NFL Players Association are arguing a lawsuit by a group of retirees alleging unfairly reduced benefit payments is ”fatally flawed” because the complaint lacks legal backing.
NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler said the union had no legal fiduciary duty to the retirees.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson heard the NFLPA’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday but did not issue a ruling.
The group filed the suit against the NFL Players Association alleging that the union improperly sacrificed revenue from the NFL for retired players in favor of more money for current players.
The new collective bargaining agreement established a Legacy Fund for the benefit of retired players, which carved out $620 million for retired player benefits. Still attorney Michael Hausfeld said his clients lost a collective half-billion dollars over the life of the CBA.
Nelson asked several questions about the merits of the players’ case. Hausfeld argued current players illegally predetermined the retiree share of new CBA revenue without their consent because their union rights were relinquished at the time.
