NFLPA Former Player Message June 8, 2012

IMPORTANT NUMBERS Gene Upshaw Player Assistance Trust (PAT) 800-372-2000 x166 Tyrone Allen NFL Player Benefits 800-372-2000 Miki Yaras-Davis Bethany Marshall Chris Smith Adora Williams Former Player Life Improvement Plan 800-NFL-Goal THIS MONTH IN OUR LABOR HISTORY June 1993 - 40% increase in the monthly benefit for Bert Bell participants (Pre 59ers Not Yet in Bert Bell Plan). June 1994 - pre-59ers included in Bert Bell pension plan adding 906 players to the plan. June 1995 - World War II years included for vesting, increasing credited seasons for 159 players. June 2006 - Benefit credit amounts increased for all current and retired players, 25% for players prior to 1982 and 10% for post 1982. UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX The deadline is quickly approaching for the free scholarship! The deadline to apply for the University of Phoenix scholarship is June 12, 2012. Apply now for a FREE full scholarship (covering tuition and on-line textbooks) to complete your bachelor's degree or a full master's degree. Five scholarships are up for grabs, so don't miss out on this exciting opportunity. If you are interested, please visit www.phoenix.edu/nflpascholar today and complete the application. Thanks, Qiana Thomas MEMBER DISCOUNT PROGRAMS Membership Services currently negotiates and administers a discount program that is a compilation of products and services specifically organized with various business and promotional partners to provide our members value-added benefits, unique offerings and general consumer opportunities. Current offers consist of travel planning, car rentals, vacation destinations, golf equipment and tickets to entertainment events. A complete list of programs can be accessed below. Each program described herein is subject to change. Restrictions may apply. The NFLPA assumes no liability with regard to these program offers. If you have any questions, please contact Membership Services at nflpamembershipservices@nflplayers.com or 800-372-2000. Click for Membership Programs 20% discount on purchases at NFLShop.com and 877-NFL-SHOP. LINKS UNLIMITED URL: https://cs.linksunlimited.com Players Discount: 20% Receive wholesale prices on all Ping equipment and merchandise. Contact Mike McCann at 800.474.6434. www.pinggolf.com. Save 40-50% through Callaway Golf’s VIP Program. Email your name and email address to nflpaformerplayers@nflplayers.com. We will set-up your online account so you can begin shopping immediately. For VIP Tour information (if interested), please call 407-560-4033. To place an order, payment is required up front. The NFLPA prices are only available through a special website, and will not be available at the Theme Park Ticket Windows. FORMER PLAYERS DUES RENEWAL You can renew by contacting us at: 1(800)-372-2000 or by visiting your profile page on NFLPlayers.com and paying through Paypal. NFL FORMER PLAYER BENEFITS An informational Website designed to describe the benefits available to Former NFL Players. Click to view the site. MY GOAL LINE MyGoalLine.com is the only designated website for benefits in pro sports. Click to view the site. HEALTH INSURANCE Members have exclusive access to a number of health insurance products. The tools at aarphealthcare.com can help you find the right one for you. SCHOOL OF THE LEGENDS UPDATE From: Andre Collins To: Former Players Gentlemen, I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out today to encourage you to get more involved with School of the Legends. Whether you have already signed up, engage regularly on the site, or don't know much about it, SOTL is a great platform dedicated to you. As a former player, SOTL provides you with the opportunity to make money, stay connected with fans and teammates, and to be honored as a Legend. School of the Legends is in the beginning stages of offering additional opportunities to players, not limited to the website. It is important that you get involved now and build upon that relationship so that you don't miss out on future opportunities with them. To sign up or take advantage of the platform, call 877-770-SOTL or email legends@schoolofthelegends.com. Thanks, Andre www.sotl.com/andrecollins Click to view the site. NFLPLAYERS.COM Don't forget to visit www.NFLPlayers.com for more updates and information about ALL players! One Team! Click to view the site. SOCIAL NETWORKS Follow up with the NFLPA and happenings with the CBA here: NFLPALegends on Twitter NFLPA on FaceBook NFLPA on LinkedIn June 8, 2012 HEALTH Mental Health: What's Normal, What's Not Understanding what's considered normal mental health can be tricky. See how feelings, thoughts and behaviors determine mental health and how to recognize if you or a loved one needs help. What's the difference between mental health and mental illness? Sometimes the answer seems clear. For instance, a person who hears voices in his or her head could have schizophrenia. A person who goes on a frenzied shopping spree or starts an ambitious project - such as remodeling the bathroom - without any plans might be having a manic episode caused by bipolar disorder. In some cases, however, the distinction between mental health and mental illness isn't so obvious. If you're afraid of giving a speech in public, does it mean you have a mental health condition or a run-of-the-mill case of nerves? If you feel sad and discouraged, do you have the blues, or is it full-fledged depression? Here's help understanding how mental health conditions are identified. Click to read the article. 5 Barriers to Mindful Eating by Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD I am a big fan of a mindful eating approach. One in which you listen to feelings of hunger and fullness, detach from outside messages about food, and give food your full attention while eating. But after finishing the writing of my first book, I experienced barriers that encouraged the opposite: mindless eating. I think this happens to a lot of people - they try to eat mindfully only to find it doesn't pan out. Instead of blaming the approach, you might want to consider the barriers that can get in the way. 1. Too Much Stress: A little stress is good, but when it gets to be too much, it can impact how we eat. As I've written before, stress is associated with excess weight. For me, the intense stress I was feeling was short term, and I knew that once I turned in the manuscript I could get back to the way things were. But I found myself rushing through meals and eating to distract myself from all I had to do. Click to read the article. Dental Tip of the Week Avoid soda. Sodas, sweetened and unsweetened, are acidic and promote tooth decay. Dr. Jerry Gordon directs the Former NFL Player Dental Discount Program. The program is a member discount program. To learn more, please call the NFL Players Association at 800.372.2000 ext. 167. The Dental Comfort Zone 2734 Street Rd. | Bensalem, PA, 19020 | 215.639.0571 Back to top BUSINESS Five Tips for Your First Job by John Coleman Now that final exams and spring commencement celebrations have passed, thousands of college students and fresh graduates will head off for their first internships or full-time jobs. If you're one of them, you're lucky. Recent statistics indicate that one in two new college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. And while many of you will have had part-time jobs, this new position can be an incredible learning experience and a stepping stone for your long-term career. But it's also a struggle. For some of you, it may be your first experience in a business environment. I remember feeling lost in my first few experiences after college (we all do). Surrounded by so much new information, I constantly felt like I was falling behind my more experienced colleagues. I didn't know who to look to for advice, and I never felt like I was doing my job well enough. Click to read the article. Starting a Business Dreaming about starting your own business but aren't sure how? You aren't alone in feeling unsure about how to take the first step. SCORE provides you with an array of educational workshops, events, templates, articles, and other resources will help you take the first crucial steps toward small business success. Click to learn more. Back to top TECHNOLOGY The Beginner's Guide to Twitter Do you have a parent, friend or colleague ready to ditch his or her digital training wheels and head into Twitter's open wilderness? These pointers should get them started. And even Twitter experts might benefit from a quick refresher on the platform's valuable tools. First, the basics: What is Twitter all about? It's a platform wherein users share their thoughts, news, information and jokes in 140 characters of text or less. Twitter makes global communication cheap and measurable. Profiles are (usually) public - anyone in the world can see what you write, unless you elect to make your profile private. Users "follow" each other in order to keep tabs on and converse with specific people. On Twitter, following someone is not necessarily an admission of friendship, but nonetheless affords interaction and conversation - at least in short bursts. The first step is to understand and master the vernacular. There are certain words and jargon native to Twitter that you may already have heard in passing. These terms and their abbreviations (in parentheses) are essential for understanding the network. Tweet: A 140-character message. Retweet (RT): Re-sharing or giving credit to someone else’s tweet. Feed: The stream of tweets you see on your homepage. It's comprised of updates from users you follow. Handle: Your username. Mention (@): A way to reference another user by his username in a tweet (e.g. @mashable). Users are notified when @mentioned. It's a way to conduct discussions with other users in a public realm. Direct Message (DM): A private, 140-character message between two people. You may only DM a user who follows you. Hashtag (#): A way to denote a topic of conversation or participate in a larger linked discussion (e.g. #AmericanIdol, #Obama). A hashtag is a discovery tool that allows others to find your tweets, based on topics. You can also click on a hashtag to see all the tweets that mention it in real time - even from people you don't follow. Twitter has a great online glossary that you can refer back to, should you get mired in a vocab morass. Read on for the Twitter basics, but remember that Twitter is an experience. The more you use it, the more enjoyable and resourceful it will become. We hope you stick with it, as it can pay dividends in great conversation and personal connections with people around the world. Click for the Twitter glossary. Back to top NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION | 1133 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 800-372-2000 | www.nflplayers.com NOLAN HARRISON III, MBA SENIOR DIRECTOR, FORMER PLAYERS nolan.harrison@nflplayers.com Twitter: nolanharrison74