Employment & Labor Insider

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

In 2024, there were 182 diagnosed concussions in the National Football League, among the more than 1,500 players injuries diagnosed and tracked by NFL clubs each year. As would be expected, research has shown that former NFL players suffer from various medical afflictions at rates greater than those for the general population. And although players are generally well compensated during their careers (the minimum salary in 2025 is $840,000), careers are short -- although not as short as the NFL Players Association claims.

Under the circumstances, it makes sense that NFL players have good benefits. Even so, the benefits provided by NFL clubs – in large part as a result of demands by and negotiations with the Players Association – may be unmatched by any other company in America.

The historical context

The NFL and its players have the most contentious history of any of the major North American professional sports leagues. In 1970, the Players Association gained formal recognition from the National Labor Relations Board to represent NFL players. That same year, the Players Association negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL that for the first time required NFL clubs to provide disability and dental benefits, and life insurance. 

Between 1970 and 1993, the Players Association and the NFL waged near-continuous litigation concerning the terms, conditions, and benefits of players’ employment. The players went on strike three times and filed numerous lawsuits against the league, alleging that its restrictions over player pay and movement violated antitrust law. Collective bargaining agreements were entered in 1977 and 1982. The agreements made marginal improvements to player benefits, but did not yet provide players the right to free agency, which by then existed in Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.

The players finally gained the right to free agency in 1993 as part of the settlement of litigation and in exchange for a salary cap. The 1993 contract focused on the core economic structure of the league, a structure that generally is still in operation today. Indeed, Eugene Upshaw, who at the time was Executive Director of the Players Association, described his and then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s roles as “stewards of the game to try to ensure that we have stability and growth.”

During his Executive Director tenure from 1983 to 2008, Mr. Upshaw was never regarded as the most committed advocate for player health and safety. He was a bruising offensive lineman for the notoriously physical Oakland Raiders from 1967 to 1981 whose tough-nosed play help the Raiders win two Super Bowls and got him elected to the Hall of Fame. In 2007, amid increased scrutiny over the health of former players, Mr. Upshaw reportedly said he would “break” the “damn neck” of a former player who had criticized his leadership.

Change at the top

Commissioner Tagliabue retired in 2006, turning over leadership to current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Mr. Upshaw unexpectedly died in August 2008 and was replaced the following February as Executive Director of the Players Association by litigator DeMaurice Smith. Commissioner Goodell and Mr. Smith were both hauled before Congress in 2009 to answer questions about concerning reports about the health of former players and the growing scientific consensus that concussions were far more problematic than the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee had previously claimed.

At the same time, the players and league were fighting over player pay and benefits and the Commissioner’s right to discipline players, among other issues. With that background, in 2011, after an off-season lockout, union decertification, and commencement of yet another antitrust lawsuit, the league and players agreed to a new contract that substantially amended and supplemented player health, safety, and benefits provisions (for a longer history of the above-described events, see Chapter 7 of this report).

In next week’s article, I will summarize and analyze the benefits available to NFL players.