John Mehno: NFL forgot the players who made the league

Mike Ditka

Beaver County Times

02/25/2007

Have you ever just found yourself with too much money?

Of course not.

For most people, it's a challenge to pay all the bills, put some money away and maybe have enough left over for a movie and pizza.

But for a small group of professional athletes, too much money is a life-changing problem.

That's how someone like Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones winds up in trouble after scattering $81,000 in cash just so he could make a conspicuous 5 a.m. entrance at a Las Vegas strip club. A melee ensued, some shots were fired, and now the Titans are seriously reconsidering the wisdom of a contract that guaranteed Pacman $13.63 million.

No matter what happened at the club, the fact is the guy had $81,000 on him. His walking-around money would buy a decent house in some neighborhoods.

Pacman's nocturnal adventures are interesting in light of another NFL-related story that's been in the news lately.

Aliquippa native Mike Ditka and former Green Bay Packers lineman Jerry Kramer have been leading a fund-raising effort to help old NFL players who are battling serious medical problems.


Jerry Kramer

Paltry pensions don't begin to cover their needs and often the players are unable to work.

Ditka and Kramer have auctioned donated memorabilia and raised more than $200,000. But that kind of piecemeal help is minor.

Ditka sent letters asking each NFL owner to donate $100,000. In a business that generates $6 billion in revenue, writing a check for $100,000 is like buying a $1 candy bar from a band kid.

Ditka got two responses - one with a $10,000 donation, the other with a $5,000 check. He sent them back.

"It's embarrassing," Ditka said.

So are some of the pensions. Herb Adderley, who played for the Packers in the '60s, gets $126.85 per month. Kramer receives $358 a month.

By contrast, former Pirate Bill Virdon, who was fully vested in the baseball pension, gets more than $100,000 per year.

Most baseball players come away with fewer long-term physical problems than football players do.

Of course, this isn't as simple as taking care of the old timers. Lawyers get involved and scammers crawl out of the woodwork, too.

It just seems like something is fundamentally out of whack when a guy who sacrificed his body to play football can't pay his rent while someone currently in the game can literally toss around $81,000.

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Some purists are alarmed that Wrigley Field will have advertising on non-ivy portions of the outfield wall.

A lot of people thought outfield advertising added to the charms of old parks. The Brooklyn Dodgers even had a sign that said, "Hit spot, win a suit" from a clothing store.

If it was quaint then, why is it a lamentable sellout now?

Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at johnmehno@lycos.com.