The wife of the late Reggie White, the all-time legendary defensive end of the Green Bay Packers, is joining more than a dozen Pro Football Hall of Famers in demanding a better pension and health benefits for retired members of the Hall.
Together, they have sent a letter (as cited by Arash Markazi of ESPN) to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA Chief DeMaurice Smith and C. David Baker, who runs the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in demanding a part of the riches of “the modern NFL, which in 2017 generated $14 billion in revenue.”
If they do not receive this salary, they threaten to sit out future Hall of Fame events.
“We write to demand two things: Health insurance and an annual salary for all Hall of Famers that includes a share of league revenue,” the letter says.
“The total cost for every Hall of Famer to have health insurance is less than $4 million – less than that of a 30 second Super Bowl ad, or about three cents for every $100 the league generates in revenue. Paying Hall of Famers an annual salary works out to about 40 cents for every $100 in annual revenue, a figure that will increase dramatically in the near future with legalized gambling.
The letter argues that the NFL’s “Legacy Fund” has “bureaucracies (which) have proven to be little more than cynical public relations ploys” that claim to be a major contrast to MLB’s treatment of retired players.
“A baseball player who has appeared on a Major League roster for one day is entitled to health insurance for the rest of his life. A player employed on a roster for 43 days gets a lifelong pension,” said the letter.
As of 2:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, the NFL, NFLPA and Pro Football Hall of Fame had not responded to the letter.
