Judge Wants to Meet on N.F.L. Retirees’ Claims - Ingles

The N.F.L., its players union and lawyers for a group of retired players have been told to meet later this month with a federal judge, who is likely to order them into mediation to address concerns raised by the retired players.

A group of retired players, led by Carl Eller, joined the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the N.F.L. But on Monday, the retired players sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board saying the current players had prevented retired players from negotiating directly for retiree benefits, even though they were supposed to be part of mediated talks earlier this summer. It also said that the union had improperly negotiated retiree benefits while it was decertified as part of a negotiating strategy.

While the antitrust case, Brady vs. N.F.L., will be withdrawn as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Eller group said it would not willingly dismiss its case. The group wants retiree benefits, which total nearly $1 billion in the new deal, separated from the new collective bargaining agreement.

Still, a lawyer for the retired players, Michael Hausfeld, has been adamant that his clients do not want to hold up the completion of the collective bargaining agreement this week or the start of the football season.

Hausfeld said the N.F.L. wanted to talk to him on Tuesday.

He also said his clients were ecstatic that Judge Susan Nelson of Federal District Court had ordered all sides to the meeting later this month.

“She’s signaling to everybody that the mediation is not over,” Hausfeld said of. “She is taking to heart our expressions of concern that retiree issues did not rightly belong to the players.”

“For first time, the things they’ve aspired to for years now may be within reach because someone with authority can make it happen,” he said.

In the meantime, the players union and the league continue to negotiate the final points of the new collective bargaining agreement — including drug testing and player benefits — with a Thursday deadline for having the entire deal completed and ratified by players. League officials were not concerned on Monday night that the Eller case, and Nelson’s order, could hold up completion of the CBA. The union declined comment Monday night. (source New York Times)