ST. LOUIS (AP) — The retirees who sued the NFL Players Association over benefit negotiations during the lockout have lost their appeal.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Monday the prior decision of U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson in Minnesota rejecting the claim against the union by the retirees. They argued they were illegally excluded from negotiations over post-career care to streamline the process and were seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Carl Eller was the lead plaintiff. His group argued current players had no right to bargain with NFL owners about retiree benefits because they weren’t legally a union in 2011 during the lockout.
The court ruled retirees couldn’t have separately won a better package from the league, without the NFLPA.
