WhoDat!656

I hope I'm not that stupid when I am 73.

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Former Packers and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley isn't pleased with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Adderley, 73, was asked Monday in a SiriusXM radio interview about comments that Brees previously made about the reason behind the financial struggles of some former NFL players. The radio show's host, Chris Russo, read this Brees quote from the 2011 NFL labor negotiations:

"There are some guys out there who have made bad business decisions. They took their pensions early because they never went out and got a job. They've had a couple of divorces and are making payments to this place and that place, and that's why they don't have money. And they're coming to us to basically say, 'Please make up for my bad judgment.' "

Adderley didn't take kindly to that point of view.

"Drew Brees is misinformed," Adderley said. "He had no idea what was going on as far as why. He never came to any of the guys and said, ‘Well, why did you have to take an early pension?' He just made up his own mind about why some guys were in bad shape financially, and he just came out and made statements like that.

"In my mind, Drew Brees is one of the greediest guys and misinformed guys in the NFL today. Last year, he held out because he wanted more money. The guy's already made millions and millions and millions of dollars, but he's going to hold out for more money. And then he comes down on the retired guys for just wanting a few more dollars for the time that the cornerstones, what we put in the league.

"You know, the NFL Network just put out a thing with the 100 greatest players; I was on that list ... No. 64 on that list. ... The guys deserve something, but Brees came down so tough on us. And none of us are fans of Brees because of him being misinformed. I needed the money. I needed to put my daughter through school, and she ended up being a very successful dentist at the particular time in Washington, DC. If I don't do that, she don't end up going to college. I think he'll change his mind if he understands what guys needed the money for."

Adderley: Brees greedy, misinformed

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

aintasinner

Brees greedy? I think he's raised and given out millions of dollars through his Brees Dream foundation as well as given millions of his own to charitable causes. Misinformed? Well, maybe. But seeing how he said "some" guys made bad business decisions, not "all" guys, I think what he said is correct. Sure, he asked for and got a lot of money in his new contract. But the market for players of his caliber is what it is. If I could get $20 million a year to do my job, I'd certainly grab it and I wouldn't apologize for it either. These older players are making Brees a scapegoat for their misery. Why is it that some of them are comfortably retired and others aren't? It's because some of them made bad decisions and some didn't. Brees' statement was basically correct.

Crusader

As much as I love Brees I can't argue with that.

burningmetal

I'm not crazy about how much money players are asking for these days either, but it's always been about "market value". I hate it, but it is what it is. Players back then were no different. They didn't make as much money as players do now because the league was relatively new, and values were much lower. But you can't tell me those guys weren't asking for as much as they could get.

As for this Adderley guy, his story about putting his daughter through college is nice, but doesn't prove Brees' point wrong. He used his pension to pay for his daughters college, but most people just save up money as they go to use on their children's college fund. So again, if this guy ends up broke because he had to use his pension on his daughter, then that's sad, but it's not the NFL's responsibility. WE raise our own kids, not somebody else.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

Jamessr

I still agree with brees...
They played football. They may have not made millions but FFS it's not the NFL's job to surpport them forever. Some people do need to goto work at age 30.... I just can't believe this is an issue

Mardigras9

Whatever, sounds like most Obama supporters.

Jamessr

Problem is Drew brees is 100% righ on this.
They agreed to those contracts. Don't complain you failed to prepair for the future. Yes Drew Brees has a large contract but its what he and Tom benson agreed to..
Can't blame the guy for that......
Unless Drew comes back in 15 years saying he needs a handout

QBREES9

Drew has raised and given out millions of dollars through his Brees Dream foundation as well as given millions of his own to charitable causes.

Tobias-Reiper

Greed... where's Gordon Gekko when you need an expert opinion.

In the great scheme of things, I don't know many people who retire at 35 years of age, but I do know people who have lost their cars, boats, homes, to bad business investments, multiple marriages, and plain old debauchery. They don't get to go back to the companies they worked for and demand they be given more money because said companies are now worth 1000% what they were worth 20-30 years ago, and while the companies still benefit today from whatever is it that those ex-employees did.

I am also pretty sure that plenty of American parents cash in IRAs, 401Ks, take on second mortgages, etc to put their kids through college, so Mr Abberley, boo-f*ing-hoo.

Drew Brees may be greedy, sure, but his profession has shifted from what it used to be. It used to be football players were paid to play football. Now they are paid for their marketability; no different from a movie star commanding 20 mil for 4-5 weeks of work shooting a movie.

'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

poydras

I wish Drew would quit wading into these issues but he has a point. Players retired and tried to keep living like they were still playing and simply ran out of money. Now they're trying to say that today's players should be picking up the tab on their lifestyle.