Randall Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Bills waive Everett, freeing him to seek NFL disability benefits ESPN.com news services Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett, who is walking again after suffering a life-threatening spinal cord injury last season, was placed on the team's waived/failed physical list Tuesday, freeing him to pursue long-term disability benefits from the NFL. Now that he has been officially waived, Everett may apply for a long-term disability payment of $224,000 per year over the life span of his injury, according to The Buffalo News, which first reported the roster move. An injured player is not eligible for that benefit while still on a team's active roster. Everett received his full pay of $435,000 last season, his third in the NFL, qualifying him for a full NFL pension. Based on his number of years in the league, he is eligible to receive monthly payments of $1,410, the newspaper reported. Everett may also apply for a one-time payment of $75,000 as part of the Player Health Reimbursement Plan, according to the report. In a statement, the team said Everett's progress since the injury "is nothing short of a miracle and is a tremendous example of faith, family and hard work. "Today we are faced with the difficult decision to place Kevin on the waived/failed physical list, making him eligible to apply for any benefits due him," the team said. "We had numerous discussions with the league in dealing with this process to assist him in the best way possible. Kevin will always remain a Buffalo Bill in the same way that Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and so many others before him are held in the highest regard by our franchise." Everett was initially paralyzed from the neck down while attempting to make a tackle in the Bills' season opener last Sept. 9. He is now walking on his own since being released from a Houston rehabilitation facility in November. He visited the Bills' locker room before their final regular-season game and sat with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Super Bowl XLII. Information from The Associated Press was used in this story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Upshaw will shaft him any way he possibly can... I'm hoping Everett can bring attention to the injustice being done to ex-players... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Good move by the Bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Upshaw will shaft him any way he possibly can... I'm hoping Everett can bring attention to the injustice being done to ex-players... The CBA treats recent players far differently than those from the 50's and 60's. Insurance makes payments easier to make now. He may try but paying out of pocket VS insurance payments are very different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleW64 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Bills waive Everett, freeing him to seek NFL disability benefitsESPN.com news services Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett, who is walking again after suffering a life-threatening spinal cord injury last season, was placed on the team's waived/failed physical list Tuesday, freeing him to pursue long-term disability benefits from the NFL. Now that he has been officially waived, Everett may apply for a long-term disability payment of $224,000 per year over the life span of his injury, according to The Buffalo News, which first reported the roster move. An injured player is not eligible for that benefit while still on a team's active roster. Everett received his full pay of $435,000 last season, his third in the NFL, qualifying him for a full NFL pension. Based on his number of years in the league, he is eligible to receive monthly payments of $1,410, the newspaper reported. Everett may also apply for a one-time payment of $75,000 as part of the Player Health Reimbursement Plan, according to the report. In a statement, the team said Everett's progress since the injury "is nothing short of a miracle and is a tremendous example of faith, family and hard work. "Today we are faced with the difficult decision to place Kevin on the waived/failed physical list, making him eligible to apply for any benefits due him," the team said. "We had numerous discussions with the league in dealing with this process to assist him in the best way possible. Kevin will always remain a Buffalo Bill in the same way that Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and so many others before him are held in the highest regard by our franchise." Everett was initially paralyzed from the neck down while attempting to make a tackle in the Bills' season opener last Sept. 9. He is now walking on his own since being released from a Houston rehabilitation facility in November. He visited the Bills' locker room before their final regular-season game and sat with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Super Bowl XLII. Information from The Associated Press was used in this story. Although this is a good move by the Bills, it is far from being adequate compensation for a man that nearly lost his life on the field. Monthly payments of $1,410 only comes to roughly $17,000 a year. That is hardly enough to support a family, especially for a person that may not be able to work full-time. Also, I'm not sure but if he takes any type of FT employment is he still eligible for the NFL injury comp package? A one-time payout of $75,000 that he has to apply for, meaning it can possibly be rejected, is total garbage. After taxes, which it is certainly subject to, he may net $50,000 as a LIFETIME payout. For injuries of that sort, there should be a higher level of compensation. If they are providing a one-time cash payout, it would be nice to see a payout equal to their last signing bonus. It's not like the NFL can't afford it. I'm happy to see him improving physically and I think the doctors did a marvelous job on the field and in his recovery. But, the NFL should not be slapping themselves on the back for a job well done here. JMHO. Edited May 14, 2008 by TripleW64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Although this is a good move by the Bills, it is far from being adequate compensation for a man that nearly lost his life on the field. Monthly payments of $1,410 only comes to roughly $17,000 a year. That is hardly enough to support a family, especially for a person that may not be able to work full-time. Also, I'm not sure but if he takes any type of FT employment is he still eligible for the NFL injury comp package? A one-time payout of $75,000 that he has to apply for, meaning it can possibly be rejected, is total garbage. After taxes, which it is certainly subject to, he may net $50,000 as a LIFETIME payout. For injuries of that sort, there should be a higher level of compensation. If they are providing a one-time cash payout, it would be nice to see a payout equal to their last signing bonus. It's not like the NFL can't afford it. I'm happy to see him improving physically and I think the doctors did a marvelous job on the field and in his recovery. But, the NFL should not be slapping themselves on the back for a job well done here. JMHO. Everett may apply for a long-term disability payment of $224,000 per year over the life span of his injury, according to The Buffalo News, which first reported the roster move. An injured player is not eligible for that benefit while still on a team's active roster. Am I missing something here? Maybe I am not reading it correctly but I dont see how you can say thats not good compensation as his injury will last him his whole life. Basically, he never has to work again and live a very comfortable life. I too am glad he is ok and the Bills doing the right thing. Edited May 14, 2008 by MrTed46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleW64 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Everett may apply for a long-term disability payment of $224,000 per year over the life span of his injury, according to The Buffalo News, which first reported the roster move. An injured player is not eligible for that benefit while still on a team's active roster. I did not see that anywhere in the article, so I was making a comment based on what was in the article. If he is eligible for that type of annual payout, that's great. If he is not, then I still think that it is a bad compensation package. ETA, "over the lifetime of the injury" That's a rather ambigous statement because an insurance company could argue the extent of the injury if he is walking on his own again. Edited May 14, 2008 by TripleW64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I did not see that anywhere in the article, so I was making a comment based on what was in the article. It was the second sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Everett may apply for a long-term disability payment of $224,000 per year over the life span of his injury, according to The Buffalo News, which first reported the roster move. An injured player is not eligible for that benefit while still on a team's active roster. Am I missing something here? Maybe I am not reading it correctly but I dont see how you can say thats not good compensation as his injury will last him his whole life. Basically, he never has to work again and live a very comfortable life. I too am glad he is ok and the Bills doing the right thing. It is good. The mention of his pension of $1410 a month threw them off. The total of both would be $20,076 per month. Too bad older players get so little. Many of our soldiers are probably in a similar situation but get far less in benefits. Edited May 14, 2008 by Randall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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