Union Warns NFL Agents About Workers' Comp Proposal

Monday, March 6, 2017 | 0

Angered by a proposed change to Illinois’ workers’ compensation law, the NFL Players Association advised players' agents to entertain offers from other teams rather than playing for the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

The players' union briefed agents on Thursday about the impact of House Bill 12, which would change the maximum age at which athletes can receive wage differential compensation from 67 to either 35 or five years after an injury occurred.

“A free agent has a lot of factors to consider when they debate signing with a team,” said George Atallah, NFLPA executive director of external affairs, in a story reported by the Chicago Sun Times. “Any time a team makes a concerted effort to go after its own players by taking away a right, that puts a strain on the way that particular franchise is perceived among the player and agent community.”

HB 12, recently amended to scrap a proposed drug formulary in favor of a minor crackdown on compounds, is part of a 12-bill “grand bargain” budget compromise package aimed at breaking a 20-month-old stalemate between Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.

Illinois has accumulated $12 billion in unpaid bills, a $130 unfunded pension liability and the nation’s worst credit rating since going without a full spending plan on June 30, 2015.