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• WHERE ARE LEGENDS NOW • PLAYER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS • NFL LEGENDS IN THE NEWS • HOMECOMING WEEKENDS • NFL LIFE LINE • UPCOMING PCF SCREENINGS • USA FOOTBALL NOW PART • STAY CONNECTED OF USOC FAMILY
Dear NFL Legends:
A few reminders for you and your family as we celebrate Thanksgiving with three nationally televised games...and some turkey...a week from Thursday:
Several of you asked whether our league office is again providing free assistance to those who need to buy 2016 health insurance for your family. The good news is… Yes! During the past two years, our benefits office has helped more than 2,000 of you who wanted to purchase such health coverage. If you fall into that group this year, we encourage you to call our information line for free confidential assistance. AONHewitt Customer Service Advocates are available exclusively for you and other retired NFL players MondayFriday from 9AM6PM (ET). Don’t leave it long on your ToDo list.
Many of you already have medical insurance through your job, your wife’s employer or Medicare. If you fall into these categories, we still encourage you to call the above number and learn about possible NFL benefits that you earned as a player but which have escaped your attention up to now. For example, a 37year old vested former wide receiver called last year and was told he had not yet signed up for an NFL Prescription Drug Card, which in many cases provides a greater discount than his own private insurance does. Also, a 57year old ex running back called our information hotline a year ago regarding health insurance. He learned that since he is over 50 he also is eligible to apply for free NFL Long Term Care coverage. This benefit provides up to $219,000 to reimburse expenses if he should need long term medical insurance in the years ahead. He’s registered now.
On a different subject, we remind those nearly 3,000 Legends who were active on previous Super Bowl game day rosters that you should participate in our Super Bowl High School Honor Roll so that a Golden Football will be delivered to your high school in appreciation for helping you become an NFL player. You receive a second Golden Football as well for yourself. You should have received a letter from our league office that gives you the option to select how your Golden Football is delivered to your school. Please contact Chris McAvey if you have any questions. The reaction we have received on the program from the high school administrators and students has been terrific.
Take advantage of the new Legends Community Resource Guide which lists all the programs that our Player Engagement Department, Player Care Foundation, Legends Community, etc. are offering. You may be pleased to see all that is available to assist you and your family.
Finally, we often receive suggestions when we see you at different Legends Community events on what we can add to our programs or what we can do differently to benefit you. As a result, we are emailing a brief questionnaire to all of you in the next few days on this same subject. We ask that you let us know how we can better service you. We thank you in advance for answering and returning the survey to us.
We wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving. Please contact us if we can answer any questions.
Regards,
Tracy Perlman Charles Way Joe Browne Entertainment Marketing Player Engagement Senior Advisor to Commissioner
WHERE ARE LEGENDS NOW?
JUSTIN CROSS TRANSITIONS FROM BILLS BLUE TO JET BLUE
Justin Cross (pictured, with daughter, Kendall) was a Buffalo Bills teammate of Joe Ferguson and Jim Ritcher in the early 1980s.
Fergy took his friends flying on his private plane (he was the QB, of course) in the offseason back then, which was the beginning of a postNFL career for both offensive linemen.
Ritcher now is a veteran pilot for American Airlines while Cross is a Jet Blue captain based in Boston.
“That’s how it all started,” says Cross. “Those are the roots of my flying. I never thought of it as something I would do after football but I guess at the time I wasn’t thinking past football.”
Not too many young players do in their NFL prime.
Injuries cut short his sixyear career so Cross began working for a commuter airline in the Caribbean and then moved to several larger airlines in the states.
He has been flying for Jet Blue since 2003.
However, his football roots keep pulling him back to the field. He coached at his high school alma mater Portsmouth (NH) for several seasons before serving as a parttime coach at nearby Tufts University until just a couple of years ago.
“I think I’ll always be a fan of the game,” he says. “It did an awful lot for me… all of it positive. It was a huge part of my life and, frankly, molded my life. I’m just happy to have been a participant in it.”
Pilots, coaches, teachers, businessmen! So many NFL Legends have interesting and productive careers after their NFL days. See if any of your former teammates are on the below list. PLAYER TEAM(S) YEARS IN CURRENT CAREER POSITION (LOCATION) NFL
G Jacob Bell Titans, Rams 200411 Owner, SOL CAL Café (CA)
DB Terry Brown Cardinals, Vikings, 196976 Agent, State Farm Insurance (OK) Browns
K Joe Cooper Oilers, Giants 198486 Founding Partner, Cooper & Cooper (CA)
T Justin Cross Bills 198186 Commercial Pilot, Jet Blue Airways (NH)
DB Jeffrey Dale Chargers 198588 Director of Housekeeping, University of Washington (WA)
DB Tim Fox Patriots, Chargers, 197686 Sales Director, RR Donnelley (MA) Rams
CB Stacey Browns 199394 Head Coach, Wilmington College (OH) Hairston
K Jeff Jaeger Browns, Raiders, 198799 Agent, Marketplace Sotheby's International Bears Realty (WA)
CB Reggie Saints, Redskins, 201012 Founder/President, Showtime For Stars (WA) Jones Vikings, Cowboys
G Derek Cardinals, Saints, 198696 Online Enrollment Counselor, Grand Canyon Kennard Cowboys University (AZ)
CB Todd Lyght Rams, Lions 19912002 Assistant Coach, University of Notre Dame (IN)
LB Quincy Monk Giants, Texans 200204 Senior Delivery Manager, The Select Group (NC)
G Chris Naeole Saints, Jaguars 19972007 Interim Head Coach, University of Hawaii (HI)
QB Mike Norseth Bengals Owner/President, Brock Insurance Group (UT) 198893
G Jeff Novak Dolphins, Jaguars 199398 Owner, Novak Brothers Development (TX)
LB Ervin Parker Bills 198083 Founder/Chairman, Blue Print Leadership Academy (SC)
QB Cory Sauter Lions, Colts, Bears 19992004 Head Coach, Southwest Minnesota State (MN)
DT John Bears 198889 Business Development Manager, Graycor Shannon Construction Company (IL)
RB Emmitt Smith Cowboys, 19902004 Partner, E. Smith Realty & E.J. Smith Cardinals Construction (TX)
CB Shawn Seahawks, 19972009 Founder/CEO, Windpact (VA) Springs Redskins, Patriots
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NFL LEGENDS IN THE NEWS Honors keep rolling in for 2015 Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown (pictured)… and his family may have had enough. Brown, a ninetime Pro Bowler with the Raiders, also was recognized earlier this month when Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings proclaimed November 6 as “Tim Brown Day” for the Dallas native whose teams at Woodrow Wilson High won only four games in his three varsity seasons. “For years my family said, ‘We can’t believe you’re not in the Hall of Fame in Canton,’” he laughs. “Now, that same family is getting sick of me and all these awards.” (Family – can’t live with them and can’t…)
“I don’t know if we were Butch and Sundance, but we were a pretty tough duo,” says Jets Legend Emerson Boozer after he and RBmate Matt Snell were announced as the newest members of the team’s Ring of Honor. Both players are Georgia natives and were drafted by the Jets in the 1960s… Snell, a fourth rounder in ‘64, and Boozer, a seventhround pick two years later. One other thing in common… they lined up behind Joe Namath and helped defeat the Colts in Super Bowl III. The Jets will formally induct them in the Ring of Honor on Nov. 29 at halftime of their home game against the Dolphins.
Two books published last month by NFL Legends Chad Hennings and Joe Washington make good holiday gifts. Hennings, the Air Force Academy DE who played with the Cowboys (19922000) after his military career, has a book entitled Forces of Character: Conversations About Building a Life of Impact. He sat down with 10 outstanding Americans, including fellow Cowboys Troy Aikman, Jason Garrett and a guy named Roger Staubach, and discussed in detail the critical issue of “character.”… Washington, whose nicknames in college at Oklahoma included “Little Joe” and “Silver Shoes,” is on the market with his book, appropriately titled, Seven Secrets of the Silver Shoes, which provides insight into the former running back’s simple take on life. Washington earned a Super Bowl XVII ring with the Redskins in 1982. He was drafted by the Chargers in 1976 and also played later for the Colts and Falcons.
Former Oilers QB Oliver Luck and Giants Super Bowl XXV Champion LB Bobby Abrams were elected last month to the Board of Directors of USA Football, which is recognized as the national governing body for amateur American football in this country. Luck is currently the EVP for Regulatory Affairs for the NCAA in Indianapolis, while Abrams is a high school principal and former coach in Alabama… LB Clark Haggans, who has a Super Bowl XL ring from his years (200007) with the Steelers, was inducted late last month into his alma mater, Colorado State University Hall of Fame. He finished his NFL career with the Cards and Niners.
Congratulations to ALL the above Legends.
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NFL LIFE LINE (8005060078) IS THERE 24/7 FOR NFL LEGENDS COMMUNITY!
An important reminder for the upcoming holiday season that the NFL Life Line (8005060078) is a free, independent and confidential phone consultation service available to all NFL Legends, their wives and other family members who may need assistance with matters such as spousal and child safety, mental and physical health, lifestyle and transition in their postNFL life.
NFL Life Line (8005060078) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. All calls are strictly confidential and not shared with the league office, teams, or any related entity.
To learn more, visit http://nfllifeline.org
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USA FOOTBALL NOW PART OF USOC FAMILY
Hundreds of you coach football either as professionals or volunteers. You and all retired Legends should feel proud to learn that the United States Olympic Committee has finally brought our great sport into its family.
The announcement earlier this month that USA Football is now an official USOC Recognized Sport Organization means for the first time that our sport will be promoted alongside other Olympic sports. While football competition in the Olympics is still down the road, this month’s USOC recognition is an important first step.
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PLAYER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
NFL Player Engagement wants to highlight the role that NFL Legends play in creating traditions around the game of football by showcasing how dads share experiences and pass down their love of the game to their children, friends and family members. Celebrate football and fatherhood by joining the Football Dads initiative on social media. For information on the social media initiative and how to get started, click here or contact Samantha Kleinman.
The NFL League Office again is inviting former players who have at least five years of Head Coaching experience at the high school level or are currently coaching in college to apply for the annual NFLNCAA Coaches Academy which will be held on February 1821, 2016 in Tampa, FL.
The Academy is a tremendous opportunity for you to learn from the top coaches at every level of our sport. The goal of the program is to develop a professional pipeline of coaches who understand the high NFL standard and will transfer that knowledge of coaching skill, leadership and character to young players at all levels. For more information or to apply, click here or contact Wilfredo Acosta.
BACK TO TOP HOMECOMING WEEKENDS
Several more clubs will be holding Homecoming Weekends and/or honoring NFL Legends in late November and early December. For example, the Dolphins in Week 14 are celebrating their club’s 50th Anniversary by honoring their top 50 alltime players…The Packers on Thanksgiving night are going to honor QB Brett Favre and retire his jersey at halftime of their primetime game… The Patriots in Week 13 are honoring their Super Bowl XXXIX team that defeated the Eagles, 2421, in Jacksonville. By sheer coincidence, the Eagles will be the opponents for this game as well. Finally, the Buccaneers in Week 13 will induct QB Doug Williams into their exclusive Ring of Honor during halftime of their game against the Falcons.
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UPCOMING PLAYER CARE FOUNDATION SCREENINGS
A reminder that free prostate and other health screenings are scheduled in New Orleans and San Francisco this fall and winter.
Contact Dana Lihan if you plan to attend either of the below screenings.
Online preregistration is also available HERE.
DATE TITLE LOCATION TIME
December 5 Healthy Body & Mind Screening Program New Orleans, LA 8AM 4PM
February 45 Healthy Body & Mind Screening Program San Francisco, CA 8AM 4PM
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STAY CONNECTED
NFL LEGENDS COMMUNITY SOCIAL MEDIA
Stay connected through these private groups which are exclusive to Legends Community members and include updates and photos of recent activity. They are also a great way for you to stay connected with other Legends, learn about various events within your local area, and help you spread the awareness about your camps, initiatives and charities.
Connect with us on Facebook
Connect with us on LinkedIn
You can also follow us on Twitter. We encourage you to use the following hashtag for all posts: #NFLBROTHERHOOD
PLAYER ENGAGEMENT
Visit our web site: www.NFLPlayerEngagement.com
Player Engagement phone number: 8554PE2472
Connect on Facebook Connect on Twitter Connect on Instagram Visit our Blog Visit the NFL Engagement Zone
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