Football Rumblings

The Health Insurance in the NFL

Posted on February 19, 2011 by James W

The NFL players association was very content to keep the CBA with the owners just the way it was. However, something changed in the operating cost and they decided that they needed the first two billion off of the pot so they could cover their expenses. While this turn of events has led to a very serious labor strife with the NFL, it’s also opened the eyes of everything else that is making the CBA difficult to get worked out.

One of them is the issue of the 18 games schedule. Now, on the surface it’s a simple money grab. The NFL wants the players to have two extra regular season games and two less exhibition games, thus having the same total number of games and not requiring more money.

The players are saying the toll that two more games will have on them should only cause more injury and problems down the road. They claim it can shorten the careers of many. Here’s the problem with this 18 game schedule as it stands. Right now the average career of a football players is just a tad over three years. This means they are eligible to receive medical benefits for the first five years after you retire.

An 18 game schedule would turn the average career to under three years which means they won’t get their medical coverage if they have to retire after two seasons. This deicision affects the guys that don’t get to play much or don’t have all the talent in the world. This is going to be an issue for months to come.