>I think there is an independent group of retired players (including some
>former stars) that has been campaigning for better benefits for retires,
>focusing on those who suffer PTSD, depression etc. I probably confused them
>with the union.
This was in the news a lot a year or so ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/sports/football/01disability.html
[...]
Tom Nowatzke, the president of the N.F.L. Alumni Detroit chapter, said more should be done by the league and the players union to help retired players with disabilities related to football.
"I get $843 a month, but some guys are only getting $300, $400 a month because of when they played," said Nowatzke, a 64-year-old former running back who scored a touchdown for the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.
"Four hundred dollars a month won't pay for a car payment these days, not to mention doctor bills and medicine, and stuff that's not covered. I'm very fortunate to be as healthy as I am at my age. I'm going to see people this weekend who have trouble walking, and they're eight or nine years younger than I am."
Nowatzke said he hoped that more players would stop to think how they may feel when they turn 60 and consider the health of players who have come before them.
"Not many do," Nowatzke said. "Guys who played in the '30s, '40s, '50s probably died before they turned 70. Now guys are living to be 75 or 80. So it becomes a bigger problem."