Bizarre Gene Upshaw Email

This is Gene's email response to my (Jeff Nixon) email verbatim @ 9:45 am ET today, Tuesday, February 6, 2007: Jeff Nixon ask Gene Upshaw about our pension plan.

Gene Upshaw wrote: "I'll give you one because I do not have to get permission to use it. I have not took my pension. It is worth 125,000 per year. When I left the game in 1982 it was worth 50,000. Why is it now worth 125, because of the improvements we have made in the plan. No other industry does this. None. Not even baseball. There is a group of baseball and basketball players that don't have a pension. In basketball it is the pre 1965ers.
Another example:
We pay out 60,000,000 a year in retirements and disability.
The contribution went from 67,000,000 a year ago to 127,000,000 this year because of the new CBA. $51,000,000 will be paid out this year in improvements. We tripled the widows and surviving children benefits.
Gave everyone pre 1982 a 25% increase and everyone else got 10%. The $50.00 that is discussed and mischaracterized is because there were players that took a pension at 45 and now are getting $70-$100 per month and 25% would not yield $50 so I made it a $50.00 minimum for those players. The minimum monthly went from $200.00 per month to $250.00 per month. ($50.00 increase) People don't want facts, they want more money. We are not going to allow this pension plan to be under funded and that's what would happen if all of the wishes are granted.
We have a liability of over $600,000,000 of benefits that we owe to players who have not drawn their pension. What do you tell them when they decide to take a pension or required by to take a pension, regardless if they need it or not. The ERISA laws say they have to take it.
We are never going to give players pensions they think they should have.
There is no industry that you leave at age 30-35 and get a pension and never work again. Surely not one that allows that to happen at age 45.
I will continue on, because I know the course we have to take. Don't forget this money did not come from the owners, it came directly from the active players. To say the active players don't is BS. They are the ones paying the freight. Until 1993, did any other group of players ever go back and improve the pension plan, reduce the vesting, create several new disability benefits, bring the pre 59er in the plan. Facts and truth is something they can't stand. My silence on this will say it all." ~ Gene

Is bizarre or disjointed the more accurate description of Upshaw’s self authored email? This is one that the Groom Law Group did not write for him.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is paying off Gene Upshaw. It would be too obvious if NFL Commissioner Goodell just wrote a check for $1,017,381 to union Exec Director Gene Upshaw. In that case the Dept of Labor and the Dept of Justice, the press, the courts, and the world would acknowledge Goodell the employer’s representative was paying off their employee’s union representative. This would be illegal for both Goodell and Upshaw.

In my opinion it is also illegal for Roger Goodell acting as the CEO of the employer’s (NFL owners) wholly owned corporation, NFL Ventures Inc. to have Goodell issue an NFL Ventures Inc check to Players Inc then Players Inc issue a $1,017,381 check to union representative Gene Upshaw who then he puts the employer’s money in his bank account. Create a cover of corporations and we can get away with it. I don’t think so.

Here is another payoff situation the retired and active players should be aware of.
NFLPA President Troy Vincent, a 15 year defensive back is also being paid off with a 3 year contract extension from the Washington Redskins so he will help Upshaw fleece the active players for another $50 million or so in a new contract extension through 2010. Vincent is the President of NFLPA and the person “negotiating” Upshaw’s employment contract. Dan Snyder through Upshaw is pursuing a vendetta against agent Carl Poston over the $6 million LaVar Arrington contract dispute which is why Snyder is giving the aged defensive back Vincent the 3 year contract extension for Upshaw so Vincent can give Upshaw an absurd $50 million contract with the NFLPA in return and Upshaw will have his personal arbitrator Roger P. Kaplan lynch suspended agent Poston for NFL owner Dan Snyder. This three way deal also benefits Upshaw’s own agent Tom Condon who is, because his stable of clients has grown to 140 NFL players since agents Steve Weinberg and Carl Poston have been suspended and their player clients and potential player clients have to look for new representation.

Troy Vincent said he wished retired players would talk to active players but he invited me to meet with him then stood me up. Maybe that is when he decided he was tired of talking to retired players who want their poverty level benefits improved. Vincent has also tried to brush off and frustrate the congressional sub-committee investigating the NFLPA and Upshaw’s dictatorial operation of the NFLPA, but he isn’t going to get away with that either.

The last contract snow job Upshaw used to fleece the active players resulted in Upshaw’s current contract that was “negotiated” by Upshaw’s agent Tom Condon with then NFLPA President Trace Armstong, whose agent was also Tom Condon, getting the picture? Condon negotiated with Condon for Upshaw’s contract or Condon negotiated with Upshaw for Upshaw’s contract, a sleazy Upshaw, Condon deal.

Commissioner Roger Goodell is hiding Dr. Elliot Pellman and the New England Patriots trainer from the press. Dr. Pellman has told writers he has been told by the NFL not to give any statements to the press, so has the New England Patriots trainer been gagged by the NFL from talking about Ted Johnston former Patriot with typical concussion problems.

Upshaw’s email misrepresented his own personal pension…Upshaw’s pension is funded by $1,017,381+ $116,886 = $1,134,267 contributions that would otherwise be paid to retired and active players. But this is not the pension he is prevaricating about. Upshaw says his pension increased from $50,000 in 1982 to $125,000 now. He is saying it increase by 150%. If Upshaw’s pension increased by 150% from 1982 til 2006 everyone’s who hadn’t taken their pension should have increased in that same proportion. Mine didn’t increase by 150% between 1982 and 2006. I waited over 30 years to take my pension. Upshaw can’t even figure out his own pension plan benefits.

The NFL Retirement Plan is funded by contributions from the member clubs not by the active players (page 9 Article “D” Contributions, March 31, 2005 Financial Statement). Upshaw claims the active players are the ones who make the contributions that fund the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan and that is a deliberate misrepresentation. He makes this misrepresentation to get the active player to be against the retired Players.

The retirement Plan Document Article 4.1 Contributions: says “Commencing within the Plan Year ending September 25, 1964, and in each subsequent Plan Year, the League, on behalf of the Employers therein, agrees to pay to the Trustee of this Plan, as an annual contribution thereto, the following amounts:”

When the Retirement Plan was late paying one year and the NFLPA sued the owners for the contribution. The NFLPA didn’t sue the individual active players to get the contribution they sued the league, the owners and they coughed it up. Upshaw is again misrepresenting the facts and truth, probably with the advice and consent of NFLPA General Counsel Richard Berthelson to play the active players off against the retired players. The active players are beginning to realizing they will be retired players too in just 3.5 years. Berthelson continues to practice law in DC without a license.

Upshaw claims MLB does not improve their pension benefits, that is untrue they made a new increase in October 2006. Basketball will announce an increase in the next few weeks. GE increases their plan often and Congress increase their pensions every year. The NFL is not a floundering industry like the automobile or airline industry Upshaw and friends like to try to bring into some equation of comparison. Upshaw wouldn’t be making what he is making if he were head of the auto or airline unions.

MLB’s current liabilities are $2.3 billion and pay average benefits of $36,700 a year whereas our plans current liabilities are $1.04 million and our average benefits paid are a miserable $12,165 a year. Upshaw is telling baseball players they are in danger of their retirement plan going broke and not being able to pay them in the future. Baseball players didn’t know their Plan is going under because Upshaw says it is not operating “prudently.” If higher current liabilities mean 3 times as much in benefits to the retired players I am all for higher current liabilities.

Upshaw is not acting “prudently” he is acting in the interests of the NFL owners who are financially responsible for the Plan’s current liabilities. Only 1% on NFL industry income is spent on player benefits. 5% would upgrade the Retirement Plan and do the right thing for the players who built the game and created the Retirement Plan that is being ruined by Upshaw’s collusion with the owners and their Commissioner.

Upshaw’s diatribe about the Retirement Plan funding doesn’t mention that the plan would be over-funded if it were not for the “Pay to Play” investment scheme loses his “administration” inflicted on our Plan in 2005. Our NFL Player Retirement Plan suffered a $138,007,594 loss from investments under the Upshaw/Condon/Callan watch in 2005, which is the only reason the Plan is not funded over 100%.

“Pay to Play” are schemes that both Callan Associates and plan actuary Aon Corporation/Consulting use. “Pay to Play” has also been described as a “kick back” scheme.

That is another crony situation that needs to be investigated along with the cronyism of Upshaw’s, friend and supporter when he was an NFLPA President, Mike Davis, who a reliable source tells me received special disability qualification treatment when he applied for NFL disability benefits.

“Facts and truth is something they can’t stand.” Who the Hell is they? Facts and truth is, is?
“My silence on this will say it all” – Gene What did he say?...?
“I have not took my pension.” What? Huh?

$30,000,000 of Upshaw’s $51 million is in a new medical savings plan for current players. It is little more than another Groom Law Group/Aon Corporation/Tagliabue scheme to get players to pay for their own disability and to churn up some more legal, investment, consulting, and management fees. They are ever milking our Retirement Plan, their cash cow.

Widow’s benefits are tripled but only if you die before you begin drawing your retirement benefits, that could be by age 45 average and dead by age 55 for sure.

Upshaw says it will take $800 million to bring everyone’s benefits up to the current players benefits but on the other hand he rebated $800 million back to the owners in an “unprecedented” move said Goodell, to help pay for the NY stadium. The owners had it financed with a lot of taxpayer money before Upshaw made his grand stand “unprecedented” offer. $800 million stadium salary rebate…duh, $800 million to fix the retirement plan…duh. Actuary Tom Lowman projected that it would take $750 million over 15 years to bring ALL retired players up to today’s level of $467 per month per year. Lowman was hire by one of Upshaw’s entourage. So these numbers although they are too high come from Upshaw’s side of the issues.

Remember neither Gene Upshaw nor Jesse Jackson represent the Retired NFL Players so no agreement between them or them and Goodell will mean nothing. Expect a “bone” tossed out to help for a few most needy, perhaps all those whoever played left guard or some other “creative” solution for another 25% insult or some other ass covering maneuver. Ignore it, it won’t mean a thing.

Upshaw is trying to provoke the retired players into suing the active players. That idea must have come from Richard Berthelson, Tom Condon, or Doug Ell, of the (running the show) Groom Law Group. Upshaw is not that “intellectual” as writer Jason Whitlock described him, but that was after Whitlock had described him as “Tony Soprano” and Tom Condon as his “under-boss” while making the point that the active players didn’t have a clue as to what Upshaw and Condon were doing. They still don’t.

We are just warming up for the kick off.