Of the many issues that the NFL owners and the player’s union need to settle on in order to end the lockout, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka says that the players need to put a priority on obtaining medical care after their careers are over.
Ditka spoke at an event benefitting the Gridiron Greats Foundation, an organization that aims to improve the lives of former NFL players. Ditka talked about what the players union needs to fight for in the negotiations with owners.
“If they want to fix the pension for former players, all they have to do is match what baseball does for their former players, they have the best pension in all of sports,” Ditka said. “I’m fighting for the disability and the medical help that we need. One thing the current players should be fighting is for medical care for after their careers. Not for five years, but for 20, 30, 40 years. We’re finding guys who are 50, 60, 70, they’re suffering from head injuries and everything else.”
