Bengals Star Sends Revolutionary Pension Proposal to Roger Goodell

In 1960, the AFL (American Football League) conducted its first season. But it was a threat to the NFL because players had the option of hopping over, and so, the NFL would threaten to hold off their pensions. Everything changed in 1966 when both leagues merged, and football players lost all the leverage they initially had. Just two years later, the NFL and NFLPA came forth with their first collective bargaining agreement. And as a part of that, the league would contribute $1.5 million from its revenue to players’ pensions. The year 1970 witnessed more changes to it, and so did 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2006.

In 2008, the NFL opted out of the CBA, but in 2011, both parties signed a 10-year CBA. They signed it once again in 2020, which is valid through the 2030 season, and with that, the NFL committed nearly $2 billion to NFL player benefits. All that sounds great, but what about players who contribute to the practice squad and aren’t on the main rosters? Well, talking about that issue on Labor Day, Bengals center and NFLPA vice president Ted Karras said, “I think with the extension of veteran practice squad, two years on a P squad should equal one year of service towards our pension.

“We expanded that. We expanded the numbers… Take Jake Browning. He is going into year seven, but it’s really year three. And that would be, probably five years, if you count his first four years on the P squad as two years. So, I think that can be a good change, especially if guys are going to be in the practice squad for six years in a row. We have to have some type of benefits structured for them.”

Vested active players with three credited seasons do have a pension plan. But non-vested active players and active practice squad players do not have it.

Benefits for non-vested active players:

• Player insurance plan
• 401(K) savings plan
• Disability plan

Benefits for the active practice squad players also remain the same as above.

The current CBA will run through 2030, and so, Karras’ idea may have come at a time when the NFL would think about starting an early discussion on its future labor reform. Perhaps Roger Goodell could reflect on this proposal.

To understand the weight of Karras’ words is to understand the dream it protects. Just ask Mason Kinsey, the Tennessee Titans return man, whose life changed on a Tuesday this past December. For him, 4:03 PM wasn’t just a time; it was a finish line. That was the weekly deadline that guaranteed a player was paid for the week, but for Kinsey, it meant securing his third credited season, the magic number for becoming fully vested.

“Now I have the pension plan, which goes from being nothing to a decent amount of money per month when I turn 55, which is damn near a mortgage for a house,” Kinsey explained, the relief and triumph palpable in his words. “With the health benefits and insurance… that’s an expense I won’t necessarily have to worry about.” His five-year fight for three credited seasons is the very struggle Karras seeks to ease.