MINNEAPOLIS — Four former NFL players, including Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, sued the NFL on Monday in hopes of joining current players in their antitrust fight against the league.
Eller, three-time all-pro running back Priest Holmes and ex-players Obafemi Ayanbadejo and Ryan Collins are listed as plaintiffs in the 44-page complaint filed in federal court in Minneapolis and obtained by The Associated Press. It seeks class-action status on behalf of all former players.
The retirees want the NFL lockout lifted to ensure their pensions and health benefits remain funded. According to the lawsuit, those benefits will end if a collective bargaining agreement is not renewed by next March 11.
The NFL offers retirement, disability and death benefits, with each program subsidized by the 32 teams. The benefits can be terminated if no CBA is in effect for more than a year, the lawsuit says.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment.
• NFL players defended the decision to disband the union, saying employers cannot force workers to unionize, and dissolution is “not akin to turning off a light switch.” The players made the statements in a court documents in response to the NFL’s assertion decertification was “a sham.”
• Titans owner Bud Adams predicted the NFL will play the 2011 season, even if it takes months to work out a labor deal. Adams, 88, spoke to reporters before being honored with a lifetime humanitarian award by the T.J. Martell Foundation.
Footnote.
New York Judge Paul Crotty says the NFL must be limited in how much money it can recover when injured players receive state workers’ compensation, stating the NFL sometimes wants to recover more money than it is entitled to receive to offset its salary and benefits expenses for injured players.
The Associated Press
