Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure: Retirees 'need the money' from NFL CBA proposal, but deal is still 'disappointing'
Joe DeLamielleure has mixed feelings about the proposed labor deal being voted on this week by NFL players. On one hand, the old-school, Hall of Fame offensive guard wishes that current players could feel the type of sting that he experienced in missing paychecks over labor principles.
On the other hand, there’s a what’s in-it-for-me reality-check: If players ratify the 11-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement, DeLamielleure’s pension would nearly double to almost $60,000 per year. The deal includes $2 billion in enhanced pensions, according to a person with knowledge of the proposal, for more than 11,500 former players, in addition to expanded — albeit not the lifetime coverage some have lobbied for — healthcare benefits. The person spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing discussions about the offer.
If the proposal is rejected, $300 million in expanded pension benefits for 2020 would be off the table, conceivably pushed down the road for consideration whenever a labor pact is struck.
“We are in limbo,” DeLamielleure, 68, told Paste BN Sports. “We need the money. It would be our luck that it doesn’t pass now and we’ll have to wait until next year. But by next year, looking at actuarial tables, there will be 300 guys who die.”
DeLamielleure, who made a mark during his 13 NFL seasons as anchor of the “Electric Company” line that blocked for O.J. Simpson with the Buffalo Bills in the 1970s, has long been a spirited advocate for improved pensions for NFL players. Retirees don’t have a seat at the bargaining table, so the improvements essentially come from the sense of duty of current players and NFL team owners – and through public pressure applied by former players, who typically compare the NFL benefits to better packages afforded to former MLB and NBA players.
In recent days, DeLamielleure, a grandfather of 12, says he’s heard from many fellow NFL retirees who grumble that the enhancements in the proposed CBA are insufficient.
“It’s really disappointing, to tell you the truth,” DeLamielleure said. “I’m glad we’re getting something, but it’s never been right.”
DeLamielleure realizes that he could rub people the wrong way with that assessment.
After all, the proposed upgrades are significant. For example, a 10-year veteran who retired in the 1970s or 1980s would see their pension increase from the current level of $43,000 to $72,000 by 2025. The pact also makes roughly 700 players who played at least three years before 1993 and are currently not vested to receive any pension, to receive up to $22,000 per year by 2025.
Yet DeLamielleure also knows that such enhancements have been a long time coming.
“Everybody says, ‘You got your pension doubled,’ “ he said. “Yeah, but when we played, there were no rules against the head slap or the wedge. We did all the dirty stuff, only to find out, ‘This is dangerous.’ We helped build this game.”
Bottom line, though: If the labor pact passes, DeLamielleure will cash his bigger pension checks.
“I’ll take it,” he says, “but I know it won’t get any better.”
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.