On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the new NFL CBA was approved through 2030. The vote was certainly a close margin (1,019 to 959). While some players may still be debating the contents of the deal (and it may contain some decisions that are not ideal for everyone), it’s important to understand what current and former players can take advantage of now - and there are plenty of benefits.
In addition to myself, our team consists of an NFLPA Certified Player Financial Advisor and a longtime former player that is still very involved with the NFLPA.
Here are four player benefits that we think fondly of coming out of the deal:
- BUDGETING- Being paid across 34 weeks (36 if season is 17 games) is going to serve as a beneficial cash flow tool. From a financial planning and budgeting perspective, spreading out a players paycheck across eight months rather than just four months is a huge advantage.
- PENSION - Player pensions will increase by 10%, moving to $836 a month. The number of years for players to be vested is down from four years to three years, which should bring thousands of players into the pension plan. There was an increase for former players too. Players that played before 2012 will see their pension move up to $550 per month per credit season (which may increase up to $600).
- HRA- This is a medical expense benefit that will give you reimbursement of a wide variety of qualified medical expenses (health care insurance premiums, deductibles, prescriptions, exams, chiropractor treatments, dental and more). Players will have $35K allocated to their HRA in 2020 (which eventually moves to $50K by 2027). Note that the lifetime max will be $450K. For former players that did not have access to the HRA (with three credited seasons), it will be available now in the amount of $50K.
- NFL-DEDICATED HOSPITAL NETWORK- This is a powerful benefit. With the new CBA, all vested former players will have access to hospital network in each NFL city. Primary care and a number of services will be free of charge, including mental health care. In the near future, spouses will be included as well.
While this list is brief, there are a great deal of added benefits players can look forward to. Among them is the increased tuition reimbursement program, practice squad players being eligible for 401(k) contributions, group insurance and annuity increases and the new vision coverage.
If you’re a current or former player and would like to discuss your benefits in more detail, don’t hesitate to reach out.