10 Former NFL Players Suing League Over Alleged 'Wrongful Denial' of Disability Payments

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The NFL is being sued by a group of former players over an alleged pattern of denying disability benefits.

The ten players — Alex Parsons, Eric Smith, Charles Sims, Joey Thomas, Lance Zeno, Jason Alford, Daniel Loper, Willis McGahee, Michael McKenzie and Jamize Olawale — are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Baltimore this week against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL's Disability Board, according to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the athletes are "seeking redress for the wrongful denial of benefits, the denial of statutorily mandated full and fair review of benefits denials, violations of plan terms or governing regulations, and breaches of fiduciary duty."

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Many of the former players behind the lawsuit allege they had benefits applications denied multiple times, and claim the NFL displayed a "disturbing pattern of erroneous and arbitrary benefits denials, bad faith contract misinterpretations, and other unscrupulous tactics" in regard to disability benefits.

The players also allege that the league, Goodell, and the board limited "the payment of benefits to the very Players whom the Plan was designed to help," forcing them "to navigate a byzantine process in order to attempt to obtain those benefits, only to be met with denial."

The complaint also claims that denial rates frequently exceeded 90% and that doctors who were compensated well by the NFL minimized injury complaints in reports, which the lawsuit claims allowed the league to deny applications.

To back this up, the complaint states that between March 31, 2019, and April 1, 2020 physicians paid more than $210,000 found 4.5% of players to be totally or permanently disabled, compared to 30% by physicians paid $54,000-$60,000.

Commissioner Goodell opened up about disability benefits at a Wednesday press conference before the suit was filed when he said that the NFL has to "have a system to be able to identify who qualifies for those benefits and who doesn't qualify for those benefits, and that's done with union and management."

"And the facts are that's done independently with doctors who make a determination of whether... an individual qualifies under that program," Goodell said, per multiple outlets.

"So you don't want people to benefit from it that don't qualify for it, because it takes away from people who do qualify for it," he added. "So you're always going to have people who may think they qualify for it — doctors disagree, the joint board disagrees. That's a way the system works, but I would tell you the benefits in the NFL are off the charts."

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An NFL spokesperson told CNN that the disability plan "includes an uncapped financial commitment to provide benefits for any retired player that meets the eligibility requirements set by the parties."

"These eligibility requirements and administrative procedures were developed after consultation with occupational, mental and physical health experts. The plan annually provides more than $330 million to deserving players and their families. The NFL-NFLPA disability plan is fair and administered by a professional staff overseen by a board comprised of an equal number of appointees of the NFL Players Association and the league, which includes retired players," the league statement read. "This board reviews the activities of the office and operation of the benefit program, including every contested application for benefits to ensure that retired players who are entitled to disability benefits receive them as intended."

The NFL did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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NFL disability benefits can range from $65,000 a year to $265,000 a year, NPR reported, depending on when and how the sports injury took place.

As for the individual players behind the suit, McGahee — a running back who twice made the Pro Bowl — was told by a doctor that he was unimpaired after he used McGahee's race and IQ, among other information, for the determination, per the complaint.

NPR reported that education and prior training are "not allowed to be evaluated" when determining benefits.

The suit also claims that Sims was approved for Inactive A benefits, despite qualifying for Total and Permanent benefits. One board member claimed the player didn't suffer his injuries like "'post-concussive syndrome' and multiple orthopedic 'NFL related impairments'" during his time in the league, despite a doctor's report saying so, per the complaint. Sims was later reportedly denied again in an appeal, added NPR.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and monetary compensation while requesting that six board members be removed for their "repeated and substantial derelictions of their responsibilities" and "breaches of the fiduciary duty of loyalty to the Plan."