Good News For Retirees

Here's a step forward for retired players, as spearheaded by former Giants defensive line great George Martin.

Martin, the executive director of the NFL Alumni Association, has established along with the NFL a program that will make neurological specialists at five major hospitals available to former players who are suffering from brain-related maladies.

Those who have insurance will pick up the cost of the specialists. But for those who can't, grants from the NFL Player Care Foundation will cover some, and sometimes all, of the bill.

Here's the whole story.

Before anybody lets the NFL and the NFLPA off the hook for their basic longtime indifference to retired players' physical and mental needs, remember that this is just a starting point. There's still a long way to go, and it would be nice if the new CBA includes an expanded and extensive benefits package for the retired guys.

But for now, this is something the old guys didn't have before. And that's a good thing.

EP