Former NFLer to owners, players: find common ground

Jim McMahon just wants the owners and players to get it done.

The former NFL quarterback, best known for leading the 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title, said Thursday he’s not sure why the two sides in the NFL lockout can’t find common ground and ensure there’s football south of the border this fall.

“I really don’t understand what the issues are now that’s holding them back,” said McMahon, in town for the Thunder Bay Sports Celebrity Dinner.

“There’s $9 billion out there. Would it be bad if they went 50-50 on it?”

The 51-year-old, who spent 15 seasons in the NFL, playing for seven different teams, said he speaks from experience when he discusses the current lockout, though freely admits he doesn’t pay much attention to the game anymore.

“I went through two strikes and I don’t think it got me any more money. All it can do is lose money, for everybody. It’s not just the players, but the owners are going to lose. It’s just something they’ve got to get resolved and start playing again.”

League owners announced the lockout in March after the players voted to dissolve the NFL Players Union.

If not remedied soon, McMahon said, he fears the NFL shutdown will eat into the regular season schedule, the first labour-related lost games in nearly a quarter of a century.

“They need to get it done in the next month, so the season will be a full season, not an abbreviated season like I played in 1987 and in 1982. It’s no good for anybody – the players, the fans, the owners. Everybody’s going to lose money at this,” he said.

The Jersey City, N.J. native, who threw 100 touchdowns between 1982 and 1996, when he retired from the Green Bay Packers, said he really feels for the fans who just want to watch football this fall.

“The cost is all going to come down to them. Whatever happens, the ticket prices are going to go up. It’s ridiculous how they’re treating the fans. Without the fans, you’ve got no game,” said McMahon, his trademark shades in place, medically needed as a result of a childhood accident with a fork.

His other staple, the bandana, was nowhere to be seen, however, his battles with the NFL still continue to this day.

McMahon, who in 1985 was fined by the league for wearing a bandana with the word “Rozelle” emblazoned on it, in deference to then NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, has admitted memory problems which he relates to on-field injuries suffered during his career.

The NFL is a violent sport and makes the owners tons of money, he said. But they need to ensure the players are taken care of in retirement, and not just tossed aside left to fend for themselves, faced with mounting medical costs.

“That’s why I went through two strikes,” he said. “I thought they were going to cover our medical bills when we were finished. And obviously that’s not the case. So I’m hoping these younger guys will realize that when they get to our age they’re going to have some issues.”

The violence is here to stay, McMahon said, but players have to realize they’re not invincible.

“Injuries are going to happen. The equipment is getting so good now guys are trusting it more. They’re using their head more and that’s what the problem is. It’s not the knock-out concussions that really hurt you, it’s the every play pounding. You’re rattling your brain every play, and that’s what you’ve got to address,” he said, acknowledging there’s little league officials can do to solve the problem.

“The only way they can do that is to take the helmets off, the facemasks off and go back to the old leather helmet.”

McMahon will be joined on stage Thursday night at the Valhalla Inn by Olympian Deidra Dionne and TSN’s Michael Landsberg, host of the panel show Off the Record. s