Pro Sports Insurance in the News

Learn more about the Gridiron Greats, a nonprofit set up to help retired players pay for healthcare. Find out about pro players' health insurance on the insurance blog.

Retired players including Mike Ditka, Steve Largent, Ickey Woods and other members of the Gridiron Greats held a press conference this week to protest the lack of sports health insurance coverage for retired players. The Gridiron Greats is a non-profit that helps raise awareness about the high costs of healthcare for retired competitors. Jerry Kramer, who founded Gridiron Greats, has targeted disability, pension and need as the three primary concerns of ex-players. Out of 10,000 alumni, only 300 former players receive disability.

When it comes to pensions, inevitably, the discrepancy between players who played football decades ago vs. players who retire today is resurfacing. Without continued sports health insurance, it’s been tough for some retired players to stay on top of their injury-related expenses. And in addition to physical injury, some players have battled depression after leaving their teams.

Members of the Gridiron Greats are calling for flat pensions, to help level the playing field for retired players who don’t have health insurance. And Kyle Turley’s Gridiron Guardian Sunday plan, a spinoff initiative, encourages players to donate one game check this season to help retired players pay for medical expenses.

The National Football League Players Association and the NFL set up a $7 million dollar fund to help retired football players pay for joint replacement injuries in 2007. The plan also promises to speed up disability awards for retired players.In the meantime, the Gridiron Greats are holding an auction with one-of-a-kind memorabilia from players to help raise money for retired players’ health benefits.

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