A group of retired NFL players, led by Hall of Famer Carl Eller, filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday against the NFLPA, union president DeMaurice Smith and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, along with former player Mike Vrabel.
 
The retired players’ suit charges that their issues were sacrificed by a union that was decertified and had no right to negotiate on their behalf in reaching a retired benefits deal, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement reached this summer.
 
"They were not a union at that time," the plaintiffs' lawyer Michael Hausfeld told Yahoo! Sports.
 
Hausfeld went on to say that the new agreement reached this summer does not address a number of issues that matter to retired players, such as retiree benefits, and that the current players used his clients’ interests as collateral in negotiations. Hausfeld said the suit does not threaten the new CBA in any way but does seek "to readjust the deal to better reflect the interests of the retirees, which would've been done by the retirees themselves."
 
"The retirees' rights were sacrificed for the benefit of the active players," Hausfeld said.
 
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(Photo: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)