Three NFL Players File Class-Action Suit

All-Pro defensive lineman Reggie White and two others filed a class-action lawsuit Monday seeking “freedom” for about 280 NFL players without a contract after the 1992 season.

The Philadelphia defensive end is joined by backup quarterback Michael Buck of the New Orleans Saints and linebacker Hardy Nickerson of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The suit comes two weeks after a jury in Minneapolis found for eight players who brought an antitrust suit against the league.

The class action was filed in federal district court in Minneapolis before Judge David S. Doty, who also presided over the antitrust trial. It seeks to prohibit the NFL from implementing Plan B, the limited free-agency system that allows the league to protect its top 37 players.

“This is the football equivalent of the Emancipation Proclamation, since the old system was bad and dehumanizing,” White said in a statement.

An NFL spokesman said in a statement: “It is unfortunate for all sides that the NFLPA has chosen additional litigation rather than additional negotiation towards a new partnership between the club and their players. The lawyers gain, but the players lose the improved benefits, additional jobs and broader free agency that would be gained through a new collective bargaining agreement.”