Ex-Patriots fullback’s wife pleads with union to reject CBA proposal

With current NFL players set to vote on a collective-bargaining proposal that will affect thousands of their retired colleagues, the wife of one ex-New England Patriots fullback has posted pictures of her incapacitated husband to plead with the union to reject the owners’ offer because it limits disability protection.

‘I was iffy about posting these pics,’ wrote former Patriots player Patrick Pass’s wife Monique. 

The pictures attached to the Tweet show a lifeless Pass sprawled across a bathroom floor. In others he’s seen incapacitated in the hospital. 

‘I need ppl to see life after NFL,’ she continued. ‘This was a month ago, my husband suffers from severe migraines and vertigo from his career. My mom called me to tell me she found my husband passed out in her basement bathroom.’ 

Monique Pass is pleading with the current players’ union to reject the owners’ CBA proposal 

Pass’s wife Monique claims he suffers from severe migraines and vertigo  

The pictures attached to the Tweet show a lifeless Pass being wheeled around a hospital 

Monique Pass’s mother texted her to say that the former fullback passed out in the bathroom 

Pass had a seven-year career, mostly with the Patriots.

According to Monique, he now relies on total and permanent disability benefits, which could be limited if the current NFL players union votes to approve the owners’ CBA proposal before Saturday’s deadline.

Most of the reporting regarding the NFL owners’ proposal has centered around the possibility of adding a 17th regular season game, another round of the playoffs, or the players’ possibility of improving their share of revenue from 47 percent to 48 percent.

However, the fine print of the offer contains several proposals to adjust retired player benefits which could prove costly, the former director of disability benefits for the NFL/NFLPA told the Daily Mail.

‘The CBA it appears to benefit more players than it hurts,’ said Paul Scott, who still helps NFL players with their benefit plans. ‘I’m not defending it one way or another, but on the surface, increasing pensions, more guys having access to benefits [is good].

‘But on the flip side, they’re tinkering with the disability and the disability processes and the disability amount by instituting certain offsets for different categories of players.

Specifically, players who submitted a disability application with 15 years of their last credited season, known as Inactive A players, can expect to see certain offsets that would limit their benefits when they need them most.’

Pass pictured alongside his wife, Monique, who has vocally opposed the owners’ CBA proposal

Monique Pass wrote a tweet at Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung, who recently filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, contending the NFLPA negotiated the agreement with the league in bad faith. In her tweet, Pass warned about potential suicides if ex-players see their disability benefits cut by the proposed collective-bargaining agreement

According to some ex players, the owners’ proposal could redefine who is and is not disabled 

One such offset involves social security benefits, which would be deducted from a player’s benefits under the proposed CBA.

‘Guys in Inactive A, their ADA plan benefit is offset by their disability,’ Scott said. ‘If you’re getting $11,250 a month, plus $2,000 in social security, you were getting $13,250.’

A former Georgia running back, Patrick Pass made a name for himself with the New England Patriots before injuries cut his career short after seven NFL seasons 

Now, however, instead of adding $2,000 to their monthly benefit, that $2,000 will be subtracted from the $11,250 that they were getting from the NFL.

What’s worse, that figure would be diminished further by proposed offsets involving player pensions.

‘If you’re getting $11,250 a month, and let’s say your pension at 55 is $5,000 a month, you don’t get $11,250 plus $5,000,’ Scott said. ‘You get $11,250 minus $5,000. So your disability is reduced from $11,250 down to $6,250.’ 

A few thousand dollars here or there may not be a major issue for a former player like Peyton Manning, who earned nearly $250 million in his career.

But for fullbacks such as Pass, most of whom earned far less than $1 million annually, those offsets could be a major problem.

‘Let’s say they were approved for a total permit, based on their spine and knees ten years ago, now they’ve been diagnosed with dementia,’ Scott told the Daily Mail. ‘So now, not only do you have a caregiver coming in, because the wife can’t handle three kids and a disabled 300-pound husband, so they have caregivers three or four days a week.’

Monique Pass even wrote a tweet at Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung, who recently filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, contending the NFLPA negotiated the agreement with the league in bad faith.

Former Chargers offensive tackle Russell Okung, who recently filed a complaint against the union with the National Labor Relations Board, is pushing players to reject the proposal 

‘Good morning Russell,’ she wrote. ‘My husband is a former NFL player Patrick Pass from NE PATRIOTS 2000-2007 .. we got the news yesterday about taking money away from former players on T&P!! My husband’s exact words this morning if this passes they will see a lot of suicides.’

In her own Twitter post, former NFL tight end Ryan Neufeld’s wife Dawn shared a similar belief: ‘Money problems cause depression. Depression causes suicide. Add a sprinkle of #CTE into the mix I fear we will see a rise in former players dealing with depression and suicidal tendencies. Families, mine included, have built our lives around [Ryan’s] disability payments. It’s sad.’

Another issue is that the CBA proposal could narrow the definition of ‘disabled’ as it pertains to former NFL players, according to retired  offensive lineman Adam Haayer. 

‘Why is no NEWS outlet talking about the NFL CBA and their redefining of disability,’ Haayer wrote on Twitter. ‘How they are going to take money from disabled retired players? How they have a better definition of “disabled” than the government.’

Unfortunately for players like Pass and Haayer, the CBA proposal is expected to be approved, Scott told the Daily Mail.

‘It’s always class warfare between the active players and the former players – the haves and the have nots,’ Scott said. ‘My thing is, all these offsets, they may look good on paper and on your bottom line, but they’re causing a heck of a lot of guys and their families a heck of a lot of strain.’ 

 Former NFL tight end Ryan Neufeld’s wife Dawn shared her fears on Twitter

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk