Eight former players are receiving full total and permanent disability benefits of $4,000 a month from the NFL. To qualify, the condition must be a direct result of a football injury, and the player must be disabled to the extent he cannot work in any other occupation.
- Otis Armstrong, RB, Denver 1973-80 (back injury).
- Ray Jamieson, RB, Oakland 1972 (spinal cord injury).
- Edward Thomas, DE, San Diego 1971-72, Buffalo 1973-75 (blood infection in both legs as a result of severe ulcerations due to being cleated).
- Charley Warner, DB, Kansas City 1963-64, Buffalo 1964-66 (back injury).
- Darryl Stingley, WR, New England 1973-77 (quadriplegia).
- Buddy Dial, SE, Pittsburgh 1959-63, Dallas 1964-66 (back injury).
- Steve Little, K, St. Louis 1978-80 (quadriplegia). Injury was sustained in a car accident on the way home after being cut by the Cardinals.
- William Wayne Frazier, C, San Diego 1962, Houston 1965, Kansas City 1966-67, Buffalo 1967 (severe knee injuries).
Thirty-nine players are receiving non-football benefits of $750 minimum per month for conditions including degenerative injuries and psychiatric problems. These players include Jim Otto, who played center for Oakland durin 1960-74 and now is disabled by a severe degenerative arthritis in both knees; E.J. Holub, a center and linebacker for Dallas in 1961-62 and Kansas City in 1963-70 also with debilitating arthritis; and Sherrill Hendrick, a linebacker for Kansas City during 1960-67, who had a degenerative back condition.
Miki Yaras, director of benefits for the NFL Players Association, called it ''ludicrous'' that, under the current system, it is nearly impossible to prove that degenerative conditions are football-related even if they stem from football injuries. Cases are voted on by the six-member retirement board made up of three owners and three players, which traditionally splits its vote and sends the case to arbitration.
''The whole process is inadequate at best,'' Yaras said. ''It`s just becoming more and more a case of players being thought of as having disposable parts.