Employment & Labor Insider

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part 2 of a two-part series. A longer version of this article was previously published on Forbes.com. Part 1 is available here.

In part 1 of this series, I outlined the historical context behind NFL player benefits.  Now we will examine those benefits.

A good place to work

In 2011, the National Football League and the NFL Players Association entered a 2011 collective bargaining agreement that included beefed-up health, safety, and benefits provisions. The contract was extended in 2020 and further improved player benefits. Today, NFL players are entitled to the following:

• Termination Pay: Players with four or more Credited Seasons (seasons in which they were on the roster for at least three games) and who are released during the season are entitled to the unpaid balance of their salary for that season. Players may receive Termination Pay only once.
• Severance Pay Plan (first introduced in 1982): Players with two or more Credited Seasons automatically receive a lump sum payment 12 months after their last contract expires or is terminated for each Credited Season played. The payment was $5,000 for the 1989 season and is $35,000 for 2025. In 2030, it will be $50,000.
• Retirement Plan (1968): Players with three or more Credited Seasons can receive monthly benefits of $836 per Credited Season payable at age 55. A player with five years’ experience would receive a monthly payment of $4,180. According to the NFL, if the same player were to wait until age 65 to start his pension, his monthly benefit would be nearly $11,000 per month.
• Player Annuity Program (1998): Players with at least one Credited Season can defer their compensation into an investment account to be paid out annually after their career ends. Per regulations of the Internal Revenue Service, the most that can be deferred per year on a pre-tax basis in 2025 is $70,000.
• NFL Player 401K Plan (1993): This used to be called the Second Career Savings Plan. All NFL players are eligible and automatically enrolled, regardless of Credited Seasons. Clubs contribute $2 for every $1 contributed by players with two or more Credited Seasons, with a maximum NFL match of $34,000 per year pursuant to IRS limits.
• Player Insurance Plan (1968): Provides players and their immediate family with life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, medical coverage, dental coverage. The wellness benefit covers treatment for mental health and alcoholism and substance abuse. Also covered are child and parenting support, elder care support, pet care, legal, and identity theft services.
• Health Reimbursement Account (2006): Helps to pay out-of-pocket health care expenses after the player is no longer employed by an NFL club and any extended coverage under the Player Insurance Plan has expired. In 2025, teams contribute $45,000 per Credited Season to an HRA for each player. Players contribute nothing.
• Long-Term Care Insurance Plan (2011): Provides medical insurance to cover the costs of long-term care for NFL players (but not their family members) with at least three Credited Seasons. The plan provides benefits of $150 a day for up to four years.
• Former Player Life Improvement Plan (2007): Permits qualifying former players (and in some cases their dependents) not otherwise covered by health insurance to receive reimbursement for medical costs for joint replacements, prescription drugs, assisted living, neurological treatment, life insurance, and Medicare supplemental insurance.
• Disability & Neurocognitive Benefit Plan (1993): Players vested under the Retirement Plan can receive $40,000 to $48,000 in annual disability benefits, even if the disabling condition is unrelated to their NFL careers. If the player has a neurocognitive benefit, the benefits are increased. For 2025, the increase is between $4,000 and $6,000.
• The 88 Plan (2006): Reimburses or covers the costs for former players for care related to dementia, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), or Parkinson’s disease. The maximum annual benefits are $165,000. The plan is named for John Mackey, a Hall of Fame tight end who played from 1963 through 1972, wore the number 88 during his career, and suffered from dementia before dying in 2011 at age 69.
• Tuition Assistance Plan (2002): Reimburses players for tuition, fees, and book costs associated with attending an eligible educational institution, including trade and vocational schools. In 2025, players with two Credited Seasons can receive up to $25,000 in reimbursements per year. Players with at least five Credited Seasons can receive up to $85,000 per year.
• Workers’ Compensation: Even in states, like Florida, where athletes are exempted from workers’ compensation coverage, the contract requires clubs to provide workers’ compensation benefits.
• Non-Vested Former Player Wellness Plan (2020): According to the NFL, “those looking for support can call 24/7 to get connected with resources for issues ranging from emotional health, child care, and more.”

In 2024, each club contributed approximately $80.3 million to the players’ total benefit costs, including a collective $452 million in performance-based pay. The 2024 salary cap was $255.4 million per team and, according to data from Sportico, NFL clubs averaged $692.3 million in revenue last year. Thus, about 8.6 percent of club revenue and 23.9 percent of player compensation went toward benefit costs.

The fine print

There are of course many important contextual components to the above list of benefits. First, the above list is only a summary of plans with lengthy and complex terms. Second, the process for applying and receiving benefits is a frequent subject of criticism and litigation, as many players and their attorneys have complained that it is overly bureaucratic and denies them benefits to which they are entitled. Third, the NFL is obviously a workplace with a high rate of injury (see chapter 2 of this report), with particular concern for head injuries. Fourth, NFL careers are short – though not as short as is often presumed. The NFL and the Players Association have issued their own data, but the only unbiased analysis known found a mean career length of 5 years for drafted players. Finally, the NFL is a cultural and financial juggernaut, with a reported $23 billion in revenue in 2024.

Better than most

With all of that said, the NFL and Players Association both deserve credit for providing what can fairly be described as the best benefits package of any private employer in America, or something close to it. The 200 percent 401(k) match is exceptional, though not unprecedented (Visa, Biogen, and USAA reportedly also match 200 percent). According to data from the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a non-profit trade association focused on retirement plans, only 2.7 percent of employers match dollar-for-dollar.

Although NFL players face extraordinary risks to their health, it should be at least somewhat comforting to know that they are entitled to extraordinary benefits for doing so.