“Don’t have the time or patience for this”: Wes Welker BLASTS the NFL after being denied disability benefits


“Don’t have the time or patience for this”: Wes Welker BLASTS the NFL after being denied disability benefits

Wes Welker

The NFL is in some hot water yet again, it has been a rough year for the league as it has been facing multiple hits to its reputation by lawsuits that players and coaches have filed against it. This time the league is being criticized for its disability plan and the process to avail of the benefits offered by this plan. Former NFL wideout Wes Welker went on Twitter and complained about the league’s NFL disability plan after his claims were not fulfilled.

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Wes Welker‘s request for availing disability benefits under the league’s plan was sent back as the Disability Initial Claims Committee which oversees the requests of players and approves them sent his request back and asked the former wideout to send detailed medical documentation about his injury history to verify if the cause for the injury was football-related or not.

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“This is Bush league stuff”: Wes Welker expresses his disappointment over the NFL’s treatment of its players:

Wes Welker
Wes Welker

Wes Welker posted the letter that he received from the league office which stated that the doctor in question who was responsible to oversee his claims and verify them was unable to do so because there were not enough documents supporting the wide receiver’s medical records. Indirectly they are trying to claim that Welker is trying to take advantage of the Disability Plan and misguide the committee.

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The response noted that “Dr. Hyssein Elkousy was unable to rate your various surgeries due to a lack of supportive documentation within your medical records. Specifically, there were no records reflecting that the surgeries were performed as a result of injuries sustained while playing in the NFL.” The league or the teams that the athletes played for tend to possess medical records of the player and the details of the surgeries and injuries they tend to go through while they playing.

Wes Welker played for 12 seasons in the NFL for the Chargers, Dolphins, Patriots, Broncos, and Rams. He made the Pro Bowl five times while appearing in three Super Bowls. He led the league in receiving yards for three seasons and ended his career with 50 TDs, for 9,924 yards, and 903 passes. After his time as an athlete was one, he moved on to become an assistant coach for the offensive and special teams for the Texans and then became a receivers coach for the 49ers before working for the Dolphins.

The letter goes on to ask Welker to send more detailed records of all these injuries and that if it is ascertained that these injuries were a result of playing football, only then will he be eligible to avail of the benefits under the disability plan. Wes Welker is not the first player to criticize the disability program, Vikings OL Brent Boyd had also spoken out against the policy and alleged that the NFL attempts to delay or deny giving any benefits to athletes who served it for years and made it money.

The NFL announced that from January 2021, it would be cutting monthly payments to former players by $2,000 that is a lot for players who may have not earned enough goodwill or gotten an opportunity in broadcasting or any coaching positions and have had to rely solely on the benefits they get from the league. The NFLPA did not allow this to happen and the two sides agreed that the league would not be taking such an extreme step for the next three years.

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