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In this edition of Website Whispers, Dan gets into a several issues, including Mark Sanchez and Deadspin, player health insurance and stadium naming rights . . .
When, and if, a lockout begins, the NFL players will lose their health insurance. At that point, they have an option to buy into a Cobra policy. For the uninitiated, Cobra is a health care option for people who just lost their health insurance policy.
I was in this program once, a couple of years ago, after leaving MSG Network, and I paid around $600 month.
I thought that was high, but after I heard what the players will be paying, I now feel fortunate to pay such a low rate.
The NFL players will be charged $3600 a month for their Cobra Plan, should they chose to sign up. They don’t have to sign up. They can roll the dice and go without insurance until a labor agreement is reached.
Why is the monthly charge so high for the players? The answer is simple. Just look at their line of work. The NFL has a 100 percent injury rate. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. So of course the insurance provider is going to charge a very high rate for NFL players . . .
As you all know by now, Mark Sanchez caused a stir by having a relationship (or something like that) with a 17-year-old girl. Rex Ryan was asked about this at a recent Knicks game, and kind of made Sanchez into a victim (perhaps he is on some level).
“Not everybody can play quarterback in this town,” Ryan told the New York Post. “It takes a special person, and Mark can do it. He’s proved that he can do it. He’s focused and determined. Some guys would wilt under the pressure of New York, of being in the city. But Mark looks forward to it. You’ve got to have broad shoulders, he has broad shoulders. I always talk about skin like an armadillo (pictured above) — though I know it’s armor — but that’s the illustration we make to our guys. He can handle this.”
Actually, there is no victim here because nothing illegal was done. And the girl’s father tried to get “Deadspin” not to write about his daughter’s relationship with Sanchez.
We asked a private investigator, who deals with scenarios like this one, what he thought of the 24-year-old Sanchez dating a 17-year-old.
“If you are asking me what I think about a 24-year-old having intercourse with a 17-year-old, I can tell you that it’s not my style, but the defense would cling to the argument that the law is the law and it was not violated. That is the legal response.
“When making the moral argument, I think it’s important to learn whether or not the 24 year old knew or should have known that the female was a teenager. I have some familiarity professionally with these types of cases and know that many girls at 17 can appear to look and act 21, especially ones that go bar hopping with their moms.”
It’s time to drop this story because it’s really a non-story . . .
A Los Angeles NFL stadium, yet to be built, landed a naming rights deal with Farmer’s Insurance. The deal is reportedly worth $700 million for 30 years.
So that begs the question – why can’t The New Meadowlands Stadium make a naming rights deal, when a stadium not even build can get one.
An industry insider, familiar with the deal, made a very good point to JC this week.
“Farmer’s Insurance doesn’t have to pay a dime until the stadium is done (if it ever is), so until then, they get great publicity, being mentioned quite a bit in the media – it’s a great deal for them – years of free publicity,” the insider told us.
