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A22 sports
Tuesday 20 augusT 2019

NFL’s Trust gives players Plan B when careers end (suddenly)

By EDDIE PELLS luck. An Associated Press
AP National Writer analysis of career lengths
Devin Fuller got his first taste found that, since 2005, the
of the NFL’s business side average amount of play-
during his rookie minicamp. ing experience on an NFL
One of the receiver’s roster has shrunk from 4.6
would-be teammates had to 4.3 years. In 2005, there
a bad practice. Not much were 784 players with three
later, that player got pulled years’ experience or less on
out of a meeting. Not much opening-day rosters and
after that, the player was 714 with five or more years.
no longer Fuller’s team- In 2018, the gap widened
mate. “I was like, ‘Wow, so to 852 and 644.
it’s like that?’” Fuller said. It means a player mak-
In the coming weeks, as ing the league minimum
training camps break and or slightly more, if he got a
the regular season beck- signing bonus as a rookie,
ons, it will be like that for and then was good (and
hundreds of rookies and fortunate) enough to stay
young veterans vying for on the active roster for an
the NFL’s most-vulnerable entire season, might clear
roster spots. They are the $3 million over four years,
interchangeable backups before hitting retirement at
and special teams players In this Aug. 18, 2016, file photo, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Devin Fuller runs the ball in the 25. “There’s a perception
whose current health, glim- second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland. that NFL players leave the
mers of untapped potential Associated Press game the way that Tom
and cheap contracts fac- year, it offers players with thousands of NFL retirees. proaching these players as Brady and Peyton Manning
tor into their value every bit two or more credited years With a board of directors they get ready to compete and Ray Lewis leave the
as much as their playmak- on NFL rosters a scholarship composed of executives at in a completely different game,” VanPelt said. “But
ing ability. award to continue their both the NFL and the play- space.” While the average in reality, we know most
There will be about 1,200 education, health screen- ers’ union, this organization NFL salary hovers at around guys, the teams will move
cuts before the Aug. 31 ings, gym memberships also provides career coun- $2.1 million, according on from, as opposed to
deadline for teams to trim and even free training for seling and a state-of-the- to Forbes Magazine, that them moving on from the
their rosters to 53 players. players such as Fuller, who art health screening that number is skewed by the teams.” Fuller landed an
For the multitude of veter- haven’t given up on mak- gives players a sense of enormous sums paid to the “externship” at The Trust,
ans whose dreams end be- ing a roster again. where they stand after their top players, along with the tasked with helping spread
fore Game 1 of the regular “I wasn’t surprised it existed, years in football. way those contracts are the word about some of
season, there’s a chance but I was surprised at all the “The fact is that when structured — often with the benefits that not all
to walk away with some- things it offered,” said Full- you leave the NFL, there huge signing bonuses up players knew existed.
thing more than a pink slip er, a seventh-round draft are no avenues out there front but not as much guar- After the 32 NFL teams
at the end of their NFL ca- pick of the Atlanta Falcons where you can apply that anteed money on an an- make their cuts, a few
reers, even if those careers in 2016, who spent two sea- skill set and keep on work- nual basis. hundred players will wait
lasted only a couple of sea- sons on injured reserve and ing,” executive director The majority of play- a few hours, or days, and
sons. has never been on an ac- Bahati VanPelt said. “No- ers, however, hover at or then be re-signed to prac-
The Trust is a multi-pronged tive roster. body is going to take his slightly above the league tice squads, at lesser pay.
benefits program created The Trust came into being in shoulder pads, helmet and minimum, which this sea- Some will get spots on oth-
out of the 2011 collective 2013, after the league and cleats and move across son will be $378,000 for a er teams’ 53-man rosters.
bargaining agreement be- union negotiated a num- the country and walk into rookie and $473,000 for a Many more will wait longer
tween the league and the ber of benefits designed to the HR department and fifth-year player. For most, for the phone to ring. For a
players’ union. With a bud- better the retirements and say: ‘Here I am, I’m ready getting to that fifth year good number of them, it
get of around $29 million a recognize the efforts of the to play football.’ We’re ap- takes hard work and some never will. q

Former Cleveland coach David

Blatt diagnosed with MS

PIRAEUS, Greece (AP) — problems. “I am a coach self to do the same.” Blatt
Former Cleveland Cava- and my job is to lead and was appointed coach of
liers coach David Blatt has teach and inspire a lot of Cleveland in June 2014
been diagnosed with mul- people. Not being as agile and took the team to the
tiple sclerosis. or active doesn’t affect my NBA finals in his first season,
In a statement posted ability to do those things,” losing to the Golden State
Monday on the website Blatt said in the statement. Warriors.
of Greek club Olympia- “How could I possibly com- He was fired partway
kos, Blatt said he was di- plain? I absolutely cannot through the 2015-16 sea-
agnosed with condition, and will not. son, in which Cleveland
which attacks the central It’s wasted effort and while won the NBA champion-
nervous system, “a few I ask my players and staff ship for the first time under
In this file photo dated Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, Cleveland Cavaliers months ago” and has ex- to be the best version of coach Tyronn Lue. He has
head coach David Blatt directs his team during NBA basketball perienced fatigue, weak- themselves, I must ask and coached Olympiakos since
game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in Minneapolis. ness in his legs and balance even demand from my-
Associated Press June 2018.q