Technically the league years ago could have claimed that the players were independant contractors and not have to pay any of it. Not the case anymore. As we learn the long term effects of football, we find certain conditions that have a definite direct link to football. Those conditions should be at least partially covered by the team that the player spent the most time on/received the primary damage that caused the condition. The league already pays the players exorbitant amounts and goes beyond most business practice on certain matters of coverage after retirement. The one thing I disagree with is players filing in Cal if their primary team was not based in Cal at the time they played, or at the very least if they did not spend time on a roster for a team in Cal. I see why they do it though, and empathize. In truth I am torn about this because of my love for the players, but this is also a business, and I don't want to see the league taken advantage of or bankrupted. The two are separate (before I get jumped on). We see that the teams have this money, but what about the long term prospectus? Much the way the one Dolphins stadium bankrupted the man who built it, the man whose name it no longer bears, this suit could put the future of the league in jeopardy. Something I desperately do not want to see happen. I know my perspective is limited, and a bit naive, but that is the way I see things as a kid in his 20's.
In 2011, the NFL led all major professional sports in America with $11 billion in revenues. The second highest grossing sport, MLB, trailed far behind at $7 billion. That revenue gap will likely continue to grow, even though the football season offers far fewer games (i.e. revenue generating opportunities) than other sports.
Given the current revenue picture and the overwhelming popularity of football in America, I don't think the NFL's
existence is in any serious danger at this point, despite the recent lawsuits concerning the long-term medical costs associated with the sport. These suits may be resolved by arbitration, according to the terms of past and present collective bargaining agreements (likely resulting in a league-friendly resolution). They might settle. They might fail. Even if these lawsuits are successful, they don't eliminate the popularity and consumer demand for professional football in this country.
The issue is really more about how the costs of playing such a violent sport should be distributed. Under the present system, the costs of continuing healthcare for many long-term, football-related injuries is being born by taxpayers and consumers: through state worker's compensation programs (as seen in CA) and, in the future, under the affordable care act; and in the form of increased private medical insurance rates for lower risk individuals to offset the costs of higher risk individuals such as former professional football players.
Much like when NFL owners leverage taxpayers for the construction of new facilities, this amounts to foisting private expenses upon the public sector and I am of the view that the NFL should do more to absorb these long-term medical expenses as part of the cost of doing business. It will eat into profits and owners won't like it, but they generate tremendous revenue by marketing a remarkably violent product; it only makes sense that they cover the cost of injuries attributable to the creation of this product.
Most players are paid well enough that they should have no problem paying for excellent insurance. If they squandered their earnings, that's their own fault and they can get a job like the rest of us. If they have health issues that are directly attributable to injuries sustained playing football like Don Majkowski, then the NFL should pay a share of that expense. But NFL should not have to cover medical conditions like cancer, diabetes, etc. any more than any other company does after an employee retires.
Seems like this sort of knee-jerk attitude is pretty widespread. I think it overlooks the fact that
most NFL players make less than one million dollars per year and the
average NFL career lasts just three and a half years. As a practical matter, roughly half this salary is lost to Uncle Sam in taxes. Many players never amass millions and the money they make probably doesn't go as far as you seem to think it does, especially where there's a family to support... (Never mind the institutional failure of our high schools and colleges to teach these kids how to budget, invest, and save.)
Needless to say, former players are going to face much higher premiums than ordinary folks like you and I. (And let's not forget that
the majority of Americans can't afford healthcare unless it's provided by their employer.) No rational insurer willingly drafts a policy covering a football player's existing injuries and they will fight to exclude as unreported any latent injuries that surface years after a player's career is over. The higher medical costs associated with insuring former players will be born by lower-risk policyholders (as with auto insurance), so the result is higher insurance costs for you and I (or our employers). The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a game changer and- though I haven't waded through all the provisions- I expect that the healthcare costs for former players that cannot afford coverage will be shifted to the public, resulting in higher costs, again, for you and I. (Yay socialism!
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As described above, I believe it's unacceptable for private enterprises to shift the costs of their business to the public. That's exactly what's going on here as the healthcare costs for former players is so often attributable (at least in part) to playing professional football. I'm rather disappointed (though not surprised) by NFL owners that seek to avoid these costs in order to protect substantial private profits and the NFLPA has done a poor job in negotiating on behalf of former players in this area.
Nonetheless, the NFL should not be permitted to socialize private business expenses through the government and this reflects the danger of a government that has grown so extensive in our society.