$19.4 Million Doubled NFL Player Pensions in 2001-2002.

An open letter. You guys have to have the guts and stamina to wade through this contrived quagmire of deceit and confusion. We aren’t the only ones the retired NBA players are going through it too. I don’t sell insurance and I have nothing to gain except great satisfaction and a fair pension for my warrior friends their widows and survivors. Be tough and wade through as much of the information I have sent as you can, you can’t win this battle without the right information. Every one of you knows how to win a tough battle, that was our way of life for many years, this one is no different. We are just now studying the game films and scouting reports. This one is going to test us again, this one will be sudden death over-time. I know we can do it. We have a long way to go in a short time and we are going to have to get off our duffs to do things shortly. I’ll get you the names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in the coming days of those who need to hear from us. A new rumor is circulating that Congress is about to investigate the NFLPA and its Agents. We must get them to expand it into Upshaw’s operation of the NFLPA not just with regard to the Agents. This has anti-trust implications that can wind up as crucial retired players issues.

Dear Mike Pyle: I don’t accept that you and PRO-FAC obtained the double of our pension in 2001 or 2002. Baltimore Sun writer Ken Murray called Art Modell to check out my version of how the pension double came about. Ken said Art verified my version of how it happened. Art basically did it in spite of Upshaw not with his cooperation. He insisted that the $19.4 mil increase in employer contribution go to all the retired players or the increase wouldn’t happen. As you know I am not an NFL owner’s fan.

As you are fond of NFLPA history do you remember 1968 when I dragged you and John Gordie and Ordell Braase, and your Chicago NFLPA attorney Dan Shulman kicking and screaming into an NLRB election and forced your asses into becoming an NLRB recognized labor union, with Jim Brown and Harold Gibbons of the Teamsters backing me? Being a union was beneath your Yale philosophy and not what the owners wanted. That is the history I remember most vividly, perhaps you still resent that?

Baltimore Sun reporter called me after he talked to you and ask why there was so much "infighting among the retired players." I told him I didn't know there was any. He said he had just talked to you. Why would he think that after calling you? I don't consider your differing ideas "infighting" I prefer to look at it as your Ivy League outlook which which is not quite a labor union outlook.

I called and emailed USA Today writer Richard Willing in early April, 3 months ago. I also called Chuck Bednarik discussed our pension problems and ask him to talk to Willing and I emailed Willing asking him to call Chuck and Jim Brown since Johnny U is no longer with us. I intend to follow up, but since you know Willing and you and your group can get him to do an article as you did before then you should call him yourself.

Examining what has happened. The employer contributions were:

1999 $24,211,136
2000 $26,675,399
2001 $23,654,464
2002 $43,074,347
2003 $49,599,601

You keep saying you got the pension doubled in 2001. Since the employer contribution went down by $3,020,935 from 2000 to 2001 there was no money for any increase in 2001. What money paid for it? Did the double cause the $3,020,935 reduction in employer contribution from 2000 to 2001? Not likely.

Obviously the 2002 employer contribution increased by $19.4 million from $23,654,464 (2001) to $43,074,347 (2002) as I have explained on numerous occasions. You and your group need to face this truth: that $19.4 million is all it took for the double in our pension, whenever it happened?

There were retroactive checks for eight months of 2001 back to April paid in 2002.

Do you get it yet? A $19.4 million increase in employer contribution doubled our pensions from 2002 forward.

The next step is the pension assets, in spite of doubling those benefits, the Plan assets continued to grow from 2003 when assets were $650 million as the Mellon Bank announced to $841,761,127 in March 31, 2005 and now over $1 billion according to Upshaw, although he is not a very reliable source.

Don’t take you eye off the damn ball. A $19.4 million increase in employer benefits funded the 2002 pension double. There were about 9,000 participants in the plan in 2002 now there are about 9,500 not a very big change, less than 6%. Why can’t you accept that $19.4 mil increase doubled benefits, that is $19.4 mil increase double benefits, that is $19.4 mil increase double benefits, that is $19.4 mil increase double benefits, that is $19.4 mil increase double benefits, that is $19.4 mil increase double benefits,…if there is another way to figure this some one other than Mike let me know.

No actuarial assumptions by Aon Consulting or Ray Bille, or Ray Schoenke’s hand picked $1000 “independent” actuary Tom Lowman of FSA can change the fact that the $19.4 mil employer contribution increase doubled benefits, the $43,074,347 employer contribution was paid in 2002.

Does anyone know if Tom Lowman’s FSA is connected or doing business with with Aon or Marsh & McLennon who paid $850 million to settle their bid rigging and other corruption charges along side Aon. Aon and Marsh & McLennon control 70% of their end of the insurance business and were connected in the simultaneous corruption investigations by the government.

There was never any $110 mil gift from the active players as Upshaw claims and MLB pays out nearly $7 million a month in benefits, and our NFL pension is not better than MLB’s and it does not compare favorably with MLB and neither do the player contracts MLB ave $2.8 mil to NFL $1.4 mil. Yankees median not average median contract $5.8 mil.

Why did your PRO-FAC insurance expert (not an actuary just knows about the NFL Plan?) Ray Bille, who some of our retired players now think works or worked for Aon Consulting or and affiliate, try to cut the retired players throats with the comments he made to the Baltimore Sun? You suggested that Sun writer Ken Murray contact Ray Bille as an “expert” on our plan.
Bille suggested an absurd $100 a month increase.

Your romance with Aon Consulting and endorsement of Aon CEO Bear owner Patrick Ryan is not based any common sense reasoning I can follow. Ryan went to Yale? He is your friend? He buys insurance from you? I can’t figure it out, and I don’t want have to figure out. Review the Internet site
www.the-catbird-seat.net/Aon.htm Aon is paying $190 million to settle corruption charges for “cheating customers” not for some minor bookkeeping error. I didn’t make that up NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer with several other state attorney generals (IL & Conn) established it and Aon is slithering out of the charges in 3 states for $190 million. What about Florida and the other states investigating Aon for corruption? Are you sure they also dropped their charges?

As you know I wanted Aon fired before I ever found out about the corruption charges. Aon gives Upshaw the tools he uses to screw us over and if they are corrupt enough to “cheat customers” they are corrupt enough not to be trusted to make “assumptions” about our Retirement Plan benefits.

Ask the Bears owner Patrick Ryan if the owners prefer putting the employer contribution into 401K’s and other insurance schemes over putting it into the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan to be shared with all players past, present, and future? Why doesn’t he speak up to the other owners on the retired players behalf? Or would that be conflict of interest?

If you and PRO-FAC in fact got us that double then thanks from the bottom of my heart. If you convinced Upshaw and the active players using USA Today to double the pension in 2001, I was totally unaware of it and I really wasn’t even paying any attention to it, but now it is time, do it again.

I have no intention of “backing off” Aon as you “suggested.” I am not “on Aon” I am just studying the film and scouting reports getting ready for the game. You would have to be stupid not to recognize other teams tendencies.

Is it a coincidence that you, Ray Schoenke and Dick Anderson are all insurance salesmen and want to sell us, “the great unwashed retired players” a position that will help Upshaw and Aon screw us over?

Based on the FACT of $19.4 million increase per the double in 2001 or 2002, tell all of us how much the NFL can afford to increase the Retirement Plan benefits? 20%??? Do you need a Tom Lowman to tell us? Don’t be surprised if his answer isn’t 20% or less.

How many times will $19.4 million go into $6 billion dollars?

Sincerely,

Bernie