Protecting the Injured Reserve

This weekend's Wall Street Journal contains a thought-provoking look at the NFL's disability program for its players. (subscription required) Ellen E. Schultz tells the story of Victor Washington, now 59, who made it to the Pro Bowl all the way from an orphanage in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Since 1986 he has fought a losing battle against the NFL in attempt to collect disability benefits for physical injuries and depression.

To obtain full disability benefits, a former player must demonstrate that he has "a football related injury." In Washington's case and in many others, this has proven extremely difficult. Washington, who suffers from debilitating shoulder, back, elbow and knee injuries lost because he did not have a single injury. In the case of Darryl Stingley, paralyzed in a preseason game, the single/multiple injury is not an issue. Another murky aspect to these fights is whether or not the injury can be causally related to playing football rather than to pre-existing congenital conditions or the degenerating effect of aging.

The article describes the time and money spent by players fighting appeal after appeal in the morass of ERISA procedure. The NFL, for its part, fights claims in an effort to protect the plan itself and to ward off what it deems to be fraudulent claims. According to filings, the NFL paid its lawyers $3.1 million in 2003 to fight claims of former players. The plan itself is valued at $784 million. Last year, the league paid $1.2 million a month ($14.5 for the year) to 135 players (of a possible 7,561 players covered by the plan.)

Ms. Schultz suggests that an employer as wealthy as the NFL might do more for its employees who, although they might not always have specific, identifiable injuries, certainly can point to their playing days as a strong contributor to their degenerative, arthritic conditions.

Note: Graph is from University of Wisconsin's The Why Files.

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