Widow of  Player Rams 1955-1959/Eagles 1961-1964):

• Lost her husband on October 20, 2006. 
• Has been left with practically no income. 
• While he was alive, they received a monthly social security check and a higher NFL pension which gave them enough money to live a modest lifestyle
• Her husband’s NFL pension was reduced significantly when he passed and there were no other sources of income (ie. other retirement funds, etc).
• The NFLPA’s Player Assistance Trust did provide her with some assistance in paying for her mortgage but she is now ineligible for another grant from the P.A.T. for a period of time as there is a waiting period to re apply.
• While she is currently trying to sell her home, she is dangerously close to foreclosure, at which time she will have nowhere to go.

 

Player (Oilers/Titans 1994-2003)

• Suffers from severe leg injury—trying to get NFL disability.
• NFL Benefits Office wants him to travel to Louisiana to see a neutral physician.  He can’t afford to get there.
• Had depleted virtually all of his savings from his playing days while waiting for a decision from the NFL on his disability claim
• While he does have a substantial amount of money in his NFL Annuity Account and 401(K) Plan, these benefits are set up so that players have no access to this money until they are 35 (Annuity) and 45 (401K). 
• Cannot work because his injuries prevent him from performing to standards
• Has been trying to find a job but no one will employ him (either cannot perform the job or isn’t qualified/has no experience
• Family was evicted from their home.
• Desperate to find a way to feed his family (wife and 4 small children).
• Has been unsuccessful in obtaining assistance from the NFLPA’s Player Assistance Trust despite the urgency of his family’s situation. He is still waiting for an answer on application as of 11-21-07.

 

Player Lions/Bills/Bucs 1987-1992)

• Played from 1987-1992 for Lions, Bills, Bucs
• Severely injured in the NFL - has difficulty sitting or standing for any period of time-- has had difficulty getting a job
• Turned down for disability
• Is currently in a retraining program for people with disabilities to use special equipment to be able to work with his condition
• Lives with wife and stepdaughter (stepdaughter has cerebral palsy and is respirator dependent. Needs 24 hour care)
• Can't afford care for stepdaughter
• Wife is working but only part-time due to the inability to afford full-time nursing staff
• Were at risk of foreclosure and having vehicle repossessed.

 

Brent Boyd (Vikings 1980-1986):

• Suffers from brain damage due to multiple concussions. 
• Lives with debilitating headaches, severe depression, and short-term memory loss.  .
• At times (while trying to get disability from the NFL), he and his son were homeless.
• Fought the NFL Benefits for years-- was given the runaround, was told that “concussions don’t cause headaches”, and was “doctor-shopped” until finally the NFL found a doctor, on the other side of the country, who was willing to say that Brent’s disabilities were not football related. 
• After many years of suffering and denials, was granted low level of only partial disability and now receives less than $20,000 per year. 

 

Brian DeMarco (Jags 1995-1998/Bengals 1999):

• Career was cut short due to numerous debilitating injuries he sustained on the field, including three “blown discs” and 15 fractures in his spine. 
• Constant pain and lack of mobility prevent him from working to support his family.
• Has a wife, daughter (5 years old), and son (1 year old).
• Financial situation was so dire that the adults often went hungry so that the children could eat, were facing eviction. 
• Had been homeless three times in the last two years. 
• Had been trying to apply for disability through the NFL Benefits Office for four years.
• Was neither approved nor denied.
• According to Demarco he has been told on numerous occasions that his application has been lost and that he must reapply. 

 

Player (Eagles 1991-1994/Redskins 1995):    

• Has 7 children to support. 
• Since his retirement in 1995, Mike has struggled with depression, diabetes, and  serious football related injuries including disfigured  bones in his knees and hands  all of which have made it difficult for him to maintain steady work.
• Filed Chapter 13 and they had been struggling to keep up with their bills, despite some public assistance they had managed to secure (food stamps, etc). 
• Poor health required that they continue to pay the COBRA payments from his last job to maintain his health coverage and between that and feeding 7 children they had fallen behind in payments for basic necessities.  
• Were about to have their electric, gas and water service shut off.

             

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