Interesting comment here from an article I read, posted the link below the comment here. Never thought of players health and globalization of the NFL in this manner looking at it from the 2 leagues perspectives:
NFL looks to England and Olympics while struggling for global traction
[i]The Law of Unintended Consequences will likely come into play here with the globalization of the NFL. If it was that simple, the NFL probably would have merged or acquired the CFL by now. But considering their current looming headache with all the concussion lawsuits that continue to grow by the day, one has to look deeper at why they'll need to fix their house before moving on to other pastures.
In talking to many NFL players who either went on to finish their careers in the CFL or simply found it a better system, it was made clear to me that the Canadian system does have many advantages over the NFL. While the CFL pays nowhere near the ridiculous salaries that the NFL has been paying every year, the other benefits are an open secret among those in the know. Having socialized medicine is one distinct advantage. While not perfect, the Canadian Health Care system provides basic care and benefits to all who qualify as employees to one more big Canadian company that actually pays their fair share into the entire system. I've heard some very interesting personal stories from American players who ended up injured while playing in the CFL and most of them have been really positive as a whole. It may be worth your time to do some of your own investigative digging into this interesting side story; I suspect it may well interest your readers in general and football fans in particular. A good place to start might be with the CFL Alumni.
Why do I point this out? Well, as more and more people are beginning to realize, the NFL has been running its own sham Pension and Disability Plan which was actually put together by its lawyers and manages to approve only fewer than 5% of those who actually get through their Byzantine process to apply for their benefits; the worst possible outcome for its former employees in what is probably the most physically brutal occupation in America. And because of this, it leaves the NFL and its owners with a larger pot of money each passing year with which to continue paying ever-increasing salaries to its newer players. And of course, the so-called Union - the NFLPA - stands by with their thumbs up their collective butts because it wants their active players to make those huge salaries. It's the active players who then pay huge annual membership dues to their Union. So the management has no use for the thousands of retired players who continue to pay their annual $100 dues for nothing much more than a fancy membership card and a few side benefits that are nothing more than what the AARP could offer for $15 a year.
Until they can finally sort out this no-win PR nightmare, one has to ponder this question: Ya think the NFL can actually enter into the European (or Chinese) markets which have socialized healthcare for all while they continue to avoid not only paying their fair share but continue to go out of their way to ensure that their injured retirees are foisted on to the backs of those who are actually paying for this system? Somehow I don't think they can do as convincing a job with the socialized Europeans and Chinese as they've gotten away with for so long with an ignorant and uncaring fan base here in America...[/i]
[url=http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/professional/nfl-looks-to-england-and-olympics-while-struggling-for-global-traction]http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/profes ... l-traction[/url]