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Reed Doughty Facebook page - The owners have decided not to continue players health insurance past march 4.

c4man5282

By c4man5282
in The Stadium

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Popeman38

Popeman38

Posted
Posted
Exactly. The last deal said that insurance would continue until March 4. There isn't a new deal. True, the owners could advance some extended coverage as a showing of good faith, but the players decided to mount a smear campaign last year. If it has the money, the union could also obtain coverage for its members, but it doesn't look like it is planning to do so. In any event, the players and union should have seen this coming a mile away. Hell, discontinuing health coverage has been in the headlines for months.

If the millionaire players need health insurance, they should contact their local agents. This could be a while . . .

COBRA will be available to all players for 180 days, just live every other union member when a CBA expires. At the members expense, and for the high end NFL plan, we are probably talkin $2500-3500/month.
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PlayAction

PlayAction

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Aren't players basically contractors? Not employees, right? Therefore, why do they get health insurance benefits anyway?

Employees can sign employment contracts. Hopefully, the players are eligible for health insurance under COBRA rules. Otherwise, anyone that is sick or has a sick kid probably will be denied coverage regardless of the insurance price. I can tell you that without COBRA there is no way that Reed Doughty gets insurance for his son.

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Popeman38

Popeman38

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Aren't players basically contractors? Not employees, right? Therefore, why do they get health insurance benefits anyway?

Employees can sign employment contracts. Hopefully, the players are eligible for health insurance under COBRA rules. Otherwise, anyone that is sick or has a sick kid probably will be denied coverage regardless of the insurance price. I can tell you that without COBRA there is no way that Reed Doughty gets insurance for his son.

Patently false. Pre-existing condition is no longer an excuse. Reed will be able to find a policy for his son.

However, COBRA is available to each player at an out of pocket cost for 180 days.

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TheismannQuote

TheismannQuote

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COBRA will be available to all players for 180 days, just live every other union member when a CBA expires. At the members expense, and for the high end NFL plan, we are probably talkin $2500-3500/month.

Yup Yup. Popeman knows his union insurance issues~

I'm shocked that Doughty posted this like it was new news. This is/was a big chip since the start of "negotiations".

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RandyHolt

RandyHolt

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It's america, where the bottom line is just that. Pre-existing condition? Well, that's a hot button political issue. For some reason we have based our health care benefits on ones employment status, as if you can work your ENTIRE life from birth to death. Lose your job, they COBRA your ass. It often costs more to not get sick with that insane pricing. It's a bigger problem for many more than a thousand football players. It is a problem with our society. It's disturbing how many people in this country support a monopoly money counting for profit insurance company, instead of getting health care for Reed's kid. Its more important for them to grow than it is to actually provide a service.

This country's obsession with growth is mind boggling.

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The Tris

The Tris

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So if neither of us can see the books, and if I have to take a side here, I'm taking the side of the successful businessman, not because he's greedy, but because he knows what he's talking about. Of course the NFL is making money, sorry, but it would seem they're not making what they're supposed to be making, and any business would make changes in that situation.

The Packers open their books - only team to do so. They lost a bunch of money between 2007 and 2009, as did most companies in the country. Also, as a small market team, their are hit particularly hard.

My question is, if the owners are being hit so hard by the changed economic dynamics of the world, why aren't we getting shown just how much things have changed? Rhetorical question - we'll never see Snyder's or Jerrah's books.

Really, this isn't a big deal for the Mannings or Bradys of the world, but it is a huge deal to hundreds of guys making league minimums, who's salary isn't quite so extravagant when you pay over 50% of it to agents and taxes, and who only play the average NFL career of just over 3 years - which means you don't qualify for pension or extended health coverage, despite a profession that has an average lifespan of 52 years old (25 years less than the US average). But yeah, these players are greedy and make too much money.

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Lavarleap56

Lavarleap56

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Reed is a class act and stand up person. He's posting just because of his frustration with the situation. In terms of cobra and his situation with his children he's looking at paying 3,000 a month for coverage. Some might say they have the money to pay for coverage but still a unfair situation for families to go through.

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Dirt

Dirt

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Really, this isn't a big deal for the Mannings or Bradys of the world, but it is a huge deal to hundreds of guys making league minimums, who's salary isn't quite so extravagant when you pay over 50% of it to agents and taxes, and who only play the average NFL career of just over 3 years - which means you don't qualify for pension or extended health coverage, despite a profession that has an average lifespan of 52 years old (25 years less than the US average). But yeah, these players are greedy and make too much money.

Well, I don't see how it is such a big deal for the guys who make league minimum. I forgot what it is ($300,000?), but at the very least they're bringing in 6 figures, and (let's face it) can afford their own health insurance policy. Many jobs don't offer health insurance, and the ones that do, don't necessarily do it because of how dangerous the job itself is. That's a workers comp thing. In other words, I don't see why the life expectancy of a football player should have anything to do with it. They should be prepared for life after football. They've been told to do so since college. And speaking of college, most of these guys were required to succeed on some level IN college, meaning they should have the brains to be successful if not for football.

My 'theory' is that these players KNOW the average career is 3 years, and want to make as much money as they can in that time so that they can retire at 30. That's a luxury usually saved for folks who win the lottery, and yes, there is a level of greed there. IMO.

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The Tris

The Tris

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The problem is, the profession that they are in causes major long term health problems and a dramatically shorten lifespan, problems which linger on long after the six-figure salary has stopped.

If you had a job that paid you $450K over 3 years, but gave you a high risk of early onset Alzheimer's, wouldn't you want a better long term health care coverage? Why is that being greedy?

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GoCommiesGo

GoCommiesGo

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The Packers open their books - only team to do so. They lost a bunch of money between 2007 and 2009, as did most companies in the country. Also, as a small market team, their are hit particularly hard.

The pack is also the only publicly held team, they have to open their books.

My question is, if the owners are being hit so hard by the changed economic dynamics of the world, why aren't we getting shown just how much things have changed? Rhetorical question - we'll never see Snyder's or Jerrah's books.

They have leverage in the negotiations they don't need to open their books as they are privately held companies also they players union has done a good job of making themselves looking like the bad guys already and don't hold nearly enough leverage to force them to.

Really, this isn't a big deal for the Mannings or Bradys of the world, but it is a huge deal to hundreds of guys making league minimums, who's salary isn't quite so extravagant when you pay over 50% of it to agents and taxes, and who only play the average NFL career of just over 3 years - which means you don't qualify for pension or extended health coverage, despite a profession that has an average lifespan of 52 years old (25 years less than the US average). But yeah, these players are greedy and make too much money.

The NFL league min. is 325k for 2010, I think I read somewhere that over 50% of the NFL players live paycheck to paycheck. Maybe they should do a tad better job managing their finances so that they wouldn't be SOL if they were out of work for one year. As Doug Williams once said "Live like your making 50k and save the rest".

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GoCommiesGo

GoCommiesGo

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The problem is, the profession that they are in causes major long term health problems and a dramatically shorten lifespan, problems which linger on long after the six-figure salary has stopped.

If you had a job that paid you $450K over 3 years, but gave you a high risk of early onset Alzheimer's, wouldn't you want a better long term health care coverage? Why is that being greedy?

I don't think it's being greedy but I would think that to cover a lifetime of health benefits you would have to pay a fair amount of money out of your paycheck during your time employed. Would it be worth it to pay half of your paycheck to cover the remainder of your life?

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addicted

addicted

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The NFL league min. is 325k for 2010, I think I read somewhere that over 50% of the NFL players live paycheck to paycheck. Maybe they should do a tad better job managing their finances so that they wouldn't be SOL if they were out of work for one year. As Doug Williams once said "Live like your making 50k and save the rest".

That just makes too much sense to me to actually care or believe any of the bullspit from those players saying "they can't make it", if you can't figure out money management and your making 325k a year then your an idiot with more problems then I can actually imagine and I really feel sorry for you but not "I feel bad for you so here let me help you" sort of way. Anyone making that much money who can't figure out that they should save some of it doesn't deserve any sympathy

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The Tris

The Tris

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1) Make sure when quoting NFL players salaries, you slash it in half.

2) Remember than unlike other major sports, there are no guarenteed contracts - and what that means for a sport where your career can end instantly.

3) And try not to ignore all the health problems that come from playing in the NFL - both immediate and long term.

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GoCommiesGo

GoCommiesGo

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1) Make sure when quoting NFL players salaries, you slash it in half.

162k league min. save some.

2) Remember than unlike other major sports, there are no guaranteed contracts - and what that means for a sport where your career can end instantly.

Completely agree with this but guaranteed contracts can cripple a sports team, look at the NBA where expiring contracts are like gold to clear cap space. Again save money and for gods sake spend some time planning for life after your sport.

3) And try not to ignore all the health problems that come from playing in the NFL - both immediate and long term.

Again how much is fair to take out of their paycheck to cover a lifetime of medical care? 50% of the after tax? More? It isn't free and it's not their only career choice but it's probably the highest earning potential one.

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Popeman38

Popeman38

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1) Make sure when quoting NFL players salaries, you slash it in half.

2) Remember than unlike other major sports, there are no guarenteed contracts - and what that means for a sport where your career can end instantly.

3) And try not to ignore all the health problems that come from playing in the NFL - both immediate and long term.

So the league minimum is $162,500? Gee, wouldn't it be nice to make that! I make less than that and have a mortgage, a wife, and a kid. Living in Ashburn. The players can kiss my ass on this one. If I can do it, so can they.
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