Recent News
April 12, 2024
But he says physical, mental injuries ‘have gotten worse’ as he waits for help.
The price of passion in the NFL: From the Super Bowl to a life altered
March 15, 2024
With the Super Bowl last month marking the end of another NFL football season, I find myself taking a bittersweet walk down memory lane. While most fans are either mourning the failed season of their favorite team or reveling in the Chiefs' overtime victory, many retired players, including me, are focused on how the league will support these players in years to come.
Oft-injured Willis McGahee leading fight against NFL for lost benefits: ‘It’s a sham’
Dec 7, 2023
Willis McGahee contemplated suicide. The thoughts that circulated in his mind about putting an end to his life largely stemmed from his inability to accept that his previous one was over.
NFL disability program leaves retired Saints tight end hurting and angry
Nov 22, 2023
His story is not unlike dozens of retired players in similar positions who spend their days picking through a web of lawyers, paperwork and bureaucracy in a fight against the NFL and its NFL Player Disability & Neurocognitive Benefit Plan.
Retired Jets player is suffering: ‘I don’t really want to get out of bed or eat’
Sept 7, 2023
What do you tell kids who aspire to play in the NFL someday? This is a question retired Jets safety Eric Smith is currently struggling to answer for his son.
David Squires on … Eric Smith and the NFL’s toll on one player’s mind and body
Sept 6, 2023
Our cartoonist looks at how the New York Jets veteran still feels the brutal effects of football long after his retirement.
Former NFL players speak out against the league's handling of disability benefits
Sept 6, 2023
Blood, sweat and tears are the unspoken requirements every athlete must adhere to when playing in the National Football League. But once a player meets them – sacrificing their time and energy while risking their lives – they're often met with extra hurdles to maneuver later in life.
N.F.L. Players Say They Were Shortchanged on Disability Benefits
Feb 9, 2023
A federal lawsuit said that Commissioner Roger Goodell and other leaders of the league’s disability plan kept players from receiving payouts for injuries sustained while playing the game.
Former NFL players sue over disability claims, accuse plan of ‘disturbing’ denials
Feb 9, 2023
Ten retired NFL players, including former star running back Willis McGahee, sued the league’s benefits plan, its board of trustees and Commissioner Roger Goodell in federal court Thursday, accusing them of displaying “an overly aggressive and disturbing pattern of erroneous and arbitrary benefits denials, bad faith contract misinterpretations, and other unscrupulous tactics” to wrongfully deny disability claims.
Suit: NFL runs ‘sham’ disability program for injured players
Feb 9, 2023
Ten retired NFL players are accusing the league of lies, bad faith, and flagrant violations of federal law in denying disability benefits in a potential class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Baltimore.
Ten former players sue NFL's benefits plan over 'unscrupulous tactics'
Feb 9, 2023
Ten retired National Football League Players (NFL) filed a class-action lawsuit against the league's benefits plan, board of trustees and Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, accusing them of "unscrupulous tactics" to wrongfully deny claims.
Lawsuit targets NFL disability plans, alleges doctors incentivized to deny claims
Feb 9, 2023
Former NFL running back Willis McGahee told a doctor assigned to him by the NFL’s disability board that he had suicidal thoughts. Another former NFL player, Michael McKenzie, had his doctor terminate his evaluation because the ex-cornerback had “serious psychiatric issues.” The disability board denied both claims.
Former NFL players are suing the league over denied disability benefits
Feb 10, 2023
A group of former National Football League players is suing the organization, alleging that it has a pattern of denying disability benefits for those with both physical injuries and mental impairments, despite evidence from medical and team records.
Apr 20, 2023
McGahee doesn’t blame the league, he says, because injuries are part of the game. But he is furious over having been denied disability benefits five times by the NFL, which is why he is one of 10 players suing the league as part of a class-action suit accusing it of, among other things, “unscrupulous tactics” to wrongfully deny claims.
Another Voice: NFL must be held accountable for betraying disabled former players
May 23, 2023
An op-ed written by Willis McGahee. During my 11 years in the NFL, I sustained many injuries that led to permanent health problems that now affect every aspect of my life. Many fans may believe that we have healthcare and disability benefits for life. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Former Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie: 'Once you're no longer playing, NFL stops caring'
Jul 31, 2023
When I signed with the Green Bay Packers in 1999 and spent over 11 years in the NFL, I had no idea that nearly 25 years later I would spend a large portion of my life fighting the NFL for the benefits included in my contract.