NFL News reported yesterday that 35 retired NFL players have qualified for dementia- and Alzheimer's-related assistance, up to $88,000 each year from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the players' union.
The 88 Plan, which took effect February 1, 2007, aims to help defray the cost of care for players afflicted with dementia or related brain problems. Players can receive up to $50,000 per year for home care, and up to $88,000 annually for institutional care. The plan was initiated at a time when brain injuries in football players were in the spotlight:
"In January [2007], a neuropathologist who examined the brain of Andre Waters, the former Philadelphia Eagles player who committed suicide last fall at 44, said that repeated concussions had led to Mr. Waters's brain tissue resembling that of an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's disease. And last month, the doctors of the former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, 34, said he was exhibiting the depression and memory lapses associated with oncoming Alzheimer's." ("Wives United by Husbands' Post-N.F.L. Trauma," New York Times, March 14, 2007)
The uptick in applications relates to a switch in recruiting tactics, which went from a passive, "word of mouth" approach to a more systematic approach administered by the Bert Bell retirement fund, a pension plan that handles retirement funds for 9,000 retired players.
According to the NFL News report, NFL and union officials say that the connection between NFL players and Alzheimer's is "anecdotal rather than scientific."
Read the full NFL News report: Thirty-five ex-NFL players qualify for dementia-Alzheimer's assistance
The 88 Plan, which took effect February 1, 2007, aims to help defray the cost of care for players afflicted with dementia or related brain problems. Players can receive up to $50,000 per year for home care, and up to $88,000 annually for institutional care. The plan was initiated at a time when brain injuries in football players were in the spotlight:
"In January [2007], a neuropathologist who examined the brain of Andre Waters, the former Philadelphia Eagles player who committed suicide last fall at 44, said that repeated concussions had led to Mr. Waters's brain tissue resembling that of an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's disease. And last month, the doctors of the former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, 34, said he was exhibiting the depression and memory lapses associated with oncoming Alzheimer's." ("Wives United by Husbands' Post-N.F.L. Trauma," New York Times, March 14, 2007)
The uptick in applications relates to a switch in recruiting tactics, which went from a passive, "word of mouth" approach to a more systematic approach administered by the Bert Bell retirement fund, a pension plan that handles retirement funds for 9,000 retired players.
According to the NFL News report, NFL and union officials say that the connection between NFL players and Alzheimer's is "anecdotal rather than scientific."
Read the full NFL News report: Thirty-five ex-NFL players qualify for dementia-Alzheimer's assistance
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