Former NFL players win $28M from union

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/11/10/daily37.html?q

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 10:12 AM PST

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

A federal jury ruled on Monday that the National Football League Players Association must pay retired players $28 million in royalties it got from companies including video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc.

The jury in San Francisco awarded $7.1 million after finding that the union breached its fiduciary duty to the retired players and but awarded no damages on its finding that the union also violated the terms of the players' group licensing agreements. It awarded another $21 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit was filed by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP which represented as many as 2,062 former National Football League players.

The suit charged that the union and its Players Inc. licensing unit owed the former players royalties from licenses with makers of video games such as Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL" game as well as from other football products.

Former Green Bay Packers player Herb Adderley was a lead plaintiff in the 2007 lawsuit .