Clint Oldenburg: The REAL Facts About the Lockout Fund

By: Clint Oldenburg | Posted: March 31, 2011

I’ve received several calls and text messages from friends and family about the “Lockout Payments” players will be receiving from our now-decertified Players Association and I’d like to take the opportunity to just put some facts out there for fans since the media has its own spin.

“No wonder you guys can afford a lockout, you stand to make $60,000 this year even if you don’t play! That’s more than most Americans live on!” – Common sentence I’ve heard since the media’s coverage of the payments.

Here are the facts:

1.) The money saved up in the Player’s Lockout fund is OUR money – beginning in 2009, the NFLPA started taking money out of our checks to put into savings for the event of the lockout.  We were hoping not to get locked out, but kudos to our representation for having the foresight to have some funds for “just in case this thing happens.”

2.) In addition to the money taken out of our regular paychecks, the NFLPA also kept all royalty payments made to them, which is generally paid to players each spring for things like video games, football cards, jersey sales, etc.  That money also belongs rightfully to the players, since our likenesses are used to sell such items.  However, not every single player qualifies to receive these payments.

3.) Not every player will make $60K.  In order to qualify for the maximum savings, as a player you have to have been on the active 53-man roster for all 34 games of the ’09 and ’10 seasons.  There are some players well below that mark and even some who won’t have any funds in the saving account, such as practice squad players or late roster additions.

4.) The reason this money was saved for players was to primarily give us funds to pay for our COBRA health insurance.  Since that benefit has been stripped from the players during the lockout, we have to file for COBRA and pay a pretty penny to have all of our pre-existing conditions covered.  The money coming out in these payments are far from “just extra money.”

Lastly, I’d like to just point out that even the maximum of $60K per player pales in comparison to the $4 billion owners were saving up over the last three years just so they could put the lockout in motion.

If you have any further questions about the Lockout Fund or anything else lockout-related, hit me up in the comments section below.

HAIL!

Clint Oldenburg is an offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins.  For more musings from Clint, check out his Player’s Perspective blog and be sure to follow him on Twitter.